Realization At The Worst Of Times
by the laughing redhead
Summary: Just what i think might have happened between the final fight and the press conference, and then afterwards. :-D
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: i own nothing to do with the movie..... sadly enough i don't even own the movie.... i really need to work on that.... :-D**

* * *

He wasn't a drinking man… actually that was a lie… He _was _a drinking man; in fact, drinking was how he had made his way through life- or what parts he could remember.

Drinking and women had made his life have the semblance of completeness, without the whole fulfillment part.

However, that had all been before being taken captive by the Ten Rings.

That was before meeting Yensin-

_That_ was when he realized the stark (a chuckle here, even when being serious and pseudo-angsty his mind was making glib jokes.) reality had been verbalized.

_You are the man with everything, and you have nothing._

He was quietly offended at that moment in time. Although his poker face had said, nothing to the man that became closer than the brother that he'd never had.

But the more he thought about it, as the days and nights of the captivity had dragged on, he had realized the undeniable truth in those words...

But that was months ago And he was not a nostalgic man.

Now, he was Iron Man, the newest addition to SHEILD (which he still knew very little about) and the only "superhero" without a secret identity.

He had been given a slight lecture by the initiative's leader and then some other cryptic information which really had been no help- whatsoever.

Mr. Fury had said he would be in touch.

Great.

* * *

_2 days before the Press Conference,_

He had woken up with a worried looking redhead bending over him.

"Tony? Wake up please." She had pleaded/demanded.

"Hello Pepper." He had slurred unintentionally. His eyes feeling full of dirt- and his body feeling like it had been viciously pummeled by a large killer robot…

_Oh, right._

"I'm going to call a hospital. Just stay with me." The concern in her eyes had delighted him in some perverse way. Nevertheless, the Tony Stark from before had refused to let things pass into the sunset.

Therefore, he promptly ruined the moment as his stubborn streak reared its head.

"I'm not dying Potts. Just a little sore is all. Don't need the hospital- no _don't _argue. Call Happy, or Rhody- Or _someone _with a car. I am going home."

She _had _argued with him- but they ended up at his giant house- having a moment of Déjà Vu when he called her down into his workshop an hour after they arrived.

He was once again propped up against his bench- a heart monitor beeping regularly- a light shining on the metallic disc in his chest that glowed with a ferocious blue light.

"I need you Pepper."He croaked from his position- Stopping her words of rebuke in her throat.

It also stopped her heart slightly- or perhaps made it flutter and jump a bit, although he hadn't meant it the way it sounded; Like some cheesy line from a half rate romantic comedy.

The blue light wasn't very bright today- and it seemed to flicker like a heartbeat itself.

That was when she realized _why_ he needed her.

"No," She said- a look of apprehension on her pale face. "You said I wouldn't have to do this again."

He rolled his eyes appreciatively,

"Well, that was before my evil partner ripped _my heart _out of my chest and ran his evil robot with it."

She blanched at his words- everything was beginning to fall into place, all the gaps that were that night were beginning to become clear…er.

Pepper had moved closer- and was now staring down at her boss's chest with slight fascination… at the arc reactor of course, not the way his chest rose and fell with each breath… not the fact that he was extremely muscular, Pepper couldn't remember him being this muscular _before_.

Yes, it would always be _before_. And she would always know what she was referring to when saying it.

_Before_ she had gone into depression when her boss had been kidnapped, with zero chance of survival.

_Before _he had been wheeled down the back end of a huge military plane looking like they had dropped him out without a parachute while they were in flight.

_Before _that fateful press conference when she had realized that, something was different about him.

_Before _she had realized that Tony Stark was not akin to the heartless harbingers of destruction that he designed

"Is that?" She asked- eying the reactor fluttering in his chest.

"Is that the "Proof that Tony Stark Has A Heart"? Why yes, yes it is." He glanced at the smashed glass still lying all across the floor. "Sorry about the case, but I _really _needed my heart back. Good thing you kept it safe and sound."

Pepper was unable to stop the blush that ran to her roots- the implications of his words immediately ran through her mind. Even if- once again- he had not meant them the way that they had sounded.

He had given her his heart.

"You need me to reattach it don't you?" She replied, without emotion. Hoping that he hadn't seen her reaction. And if she caused him to concentrate on something more important, he would forget he had noticed, if he did.

"Yep, time to play Operation again with my favorite nurse." He grinned blithely at her in his roguish way. "Same drill as last time- Had a spare synthesized while you were fussing upstairs- it will do the job for the time being."

She was careful pulling the magnet out this time- he noticed her meticulous removal with a slight grin- making her quite self-conscious, although she had no idea why.

She only touched the metal wall once, causing him to wince and hiss in pain.

"Sorry!" She squeaked. "I'm very sorry Mr. Stark."

"You know if this happens again, I am attaching an annoying buzzer and a red light to my nose," His smile was strained as he gestured for her to continue.

The arc was inserted without further mishap- and she sighed in relief when the throbbing blue light was replaced by the steady glow.

He relaxed against the seat- laying his head back and exhaling noisily.

This hero business wasn't as easy as he'd thought it would be.

"You know, you should really attempt to do something about that smell." She said after several moments of silence. "I mean- you _are_ a genius after all."

He grinned with his eyes closed. But it was starting to hurt to show expression. So he regretted it.

"Yeah, I'll get to that."

"And you should have gone to the hospital. You are clearly injured in more than one place- and you've played hero enough for a long time. You just need to rest."

"Is that all Miss Potts?" He queried in that infuriating way that told her immediately that she was being dismissed from his presence at this time.

She pursed her lips, and frowned.

"Yes Mr. Stark. That's all."

"Thank you. That's all I'll need for the night."

She turned and made her way towards the nonexistent glass wall and the stairs that led upward.

Pepper was angry- every line in her body said so- Tony _did_ feel bad for causing that emotion, but she had been babying him, which was the last thing he needed.

He stood- trying to prove to her that he didn't need any help- and moved toward his favorite car: The hot-rod with red and gold flames up the side.

He bent down next to it and began to tinker.

He was so intent on this façade that he didn't notice her sneak a glance at him before she went upstairs- she watched him work for a few seconds- An inscrutable expression on her face- Then she was gone, and he continued working, completely unaware.

When he heard the upstairs door slide shut with its metallic whoosh, he sagged up against the car and his metal workbench, panting and wheezing with exertion.

Pain shot through most of his body. Not the sharp pain of broken bones- but the deep throbbing pain of a body that had been roughed up way too many times in the past few weeks.

After years of living soft, and pampering himself to his every whim, His body was complaining.

He lifted his arms gingerly and pulled his t-shirt off, Flinching at the sight that greeted his eyes.

There were huge bruises all over his body, extending from his upper chest to the base of his abdomen. Looking in the reflective surface of the many metal objects in his workspace, his back was no better off, these weren't your run of the mill yellow-green bruises. They were deep purple and black- some were raised and welty looking

_This_ was only a few hours after.

He couldn't imagine what he was going to look like in a few days when all the bruises finally made their way to the surface.

He swore and Owwed loudly- no, the shirt wasn't going back on. It hurt too much.

"_Are you alright sir?"_

Jarvis asked- an almost worry-like sound crept into the automated voice.

"_Should I call Miss Potts?"_

Tony settled back in a semi crouch position- trying to keep his bruised flesh from touching anything. His left arm was starting to turn purple.

Great.

"No." He replied irritably. "She's already gone. There's no need to call her back. I'm fine."

Jarvis almost commented on the fact that Miss Potts was _not _gone yet. In fact- all of its processors told him that she wasn't leaving at all tonight. The computer had automatically documented her movements around the house. The front door hadn't been used yet. She had moved up the stairs- into the kitchen for 4.5 minutes and then down the hall into the almost unused wing of the house and into the spare room that couldn't been seen unless you made your way at least halfway down the wing hall.

If Jarvis was going to make suppositions about this strange occurrence- he would almost say that she was trying to keep herself hidden from Mr. Stark's knowledge. Since he clearly thought, she had left.

The computer was not trying to deceive his Master/Creator.

If Mr. Stark asked where she was, or if she was in the house. Jarvis would tell him immediately.

"Jarvis?" The computer immediately registered the voice as Virginia P. Potts.

"_Yes?"_

He replied. The voice was coming from the bed in the spare room. Cameras indicated that she was laying in her bed reading.

"If Mr. Stark needs help for any reason during the night- Contact me please."

Jarvis logged the request- and finding no reason not to comply with it, he agreed. She nodded, more to herself than to the house computer. She then turned out the light and got more comfortable in her bed.

12.47 minutes later, he logged that she had fallen asleep.

* * *

Tony Stark sat against his father's favorite car for a long time. Breathing in and out- trying to get rid of the dizziness and fatigue that seemed to constantly plague him since his joining with the suit- or more correctly- since he had come home from Iraq.

This and the unreasonable loathing of the thought of crawling into his own bed and sleeping off the pain kept him in the workshop.

"Jarvis, would you mind turning the lights off?"

The workshop suddenly filled with perpetual darkness.

Panic clawed at his heart- the dark was something he feared irrationally since his capture. That cave had been this dark when his kidnappers would decide their curfew was up for the night. They were not allowed any light until morning.

The only thing that had gotten him through was the feeble blue light emanating from his "Heart".

He delicately settled back into the leather front seat of the roadster, his entire body was killing him. But it was ok, for the first time in a long time- he felt safe.

Within minutes, he was asleep, head resting against the firm cool leather of the passenger seat.

* * *

"_Ms. Potts?"_

The pseudo-metallic voice intruded into her dreams of someone's dark eyes gazing into hers as the stars shone down as they had not so long ago.

"_Ms. Potts?"_

It said again- the scene being replayed in her mind suddenly blanked out as she came back to the real world. The real world that she didn't recognize.

Nothing in the darkness was familiar to her- a slight glow came from the bed stand next to her.

"_I'm sorry for waking you, but you asked me to."_

Everything came back. She had decided to stay at Tony's house for the night to make sure he was ok.

It was Jarvis' voice that had broken her out of slumber.

She moaned and rubbed her eyes.

"It's ok Jarvis. What's wrong?"

"_You told me to inform you of any changes in the normal routine of Mr. Stark's evening. If at any time he needed help."_

Pepper resisted the urge to smack the nonexistent computer's face; it could be so obnoxiously wordy at times.

"Get to the point Jarvis,"

"_Mr. Stark is downstairs- thrashing violently and calling out."_

"He's not in his room?"

"_No. He is in his workshop."_

"Is there anyone down there with him?" Pepper's mind automatically went to the thought that he may have decided he needed female company. _That _would explain a lot.

He hadn't done something like that since he had come back, this had been a trying day. And he'd used a lot worse excuses to call in girls before.

"_Mr. Stark is alone. He appears to be having a night terror- I made this diagnosis from the medical journal that was downloaded into my memory in case of emergency."_

Pepper frowned. She could just let him work through it himself- then he need not know she stayed the night, and she could forgo the awkward questioning as to _why _she had stayed in the first place. Then she would have to make up some excuse and attempt to make herself sound like an overly attentive assistant, not a woman who worried about the man she was… the man she admired. _The __**boss**__ she admired. _She corrected.

"Is he still having it?" She asked. It had only been about 5 seconds. But there was a possibility.

"_Yes."_ Jarvis replied after only the smallest moment of quiet. _"It appears to be getting worse."  
_Pepper was already out the door and rushing down towards the subterranean workshop.

Even if she hadn't known the workshop like the back of her hand she would have been easily led to him by the blue glow that surrounded him in a halo of soft light.

That and the half-choked words that were tumbling out of his mouth.

She crept up beside him, worried about disturbing his rest,

"No!" He yelled tearfully, "I need him, he is a good helper."

Another long pause while he thrashed brutally about- it was a miracle that he hadn't bashed his head against the metal car and woken himself up.

He continued- saying things like: _I __**won't**__ build it_- and then small cries of pain that made her heart ache and thud against her rib cage.

It was at this point that she opened the car door as quietly as she could- and sat down in the driver's seat, making as little noise and movement as possible.

He was rocking- and calling out the same name- Yensin.

Tony had mentioned him once or twice, the only fellow prisoner that he saw during his months of capture. He had also said that Yensin had been killed. But he had never elaborated on that- she had never felt it was her right to ask.

"_I'm sorry"_ He said, and she saw tears leak out from under his closed eyelids and run in rivers down his face and into his neatly trimmed beard. It was hard for her, seeing him cry. The sudden reality hit her- she had never seen him cry. Not once.

Once several years ago, in a moment of weakness, she had asked Jarvis to show her the recording of his parents' funeral.

It had been one of the only private moments of the young man's life. No news station had gotten any footage of the ceremony at his parents' old home.

He had had it recorded, though, why she would never know, and she had watched it one evening- while he was gone on a "business trip" that she doubted had anything to do with Stark Industries.

She had sat on the couch and watched as the black screen suddenly came to life.

Pepper couldn't remember paying the black sheep, heir to the Stark empire much mind when he was young, or even before she sought his employment, so, at that moment, she had asked to see the funeral. To get to know the man whom she knew so much, and so little about.

It was raw and uncut, starting jerkily at the gravesite, the twin coffins lying in grim estate while the cold and grey fall morning blew around them.

She picked him out immediately- Standing next to Obadiah Stane.

For once since she had known Tony, he looked small, Vulnerable even.

But he didn't cry-

He stood in a solemn black coat that made him look a great deal older than his 17 years- and stared at the beautiful wooden caskets that held his parents' bodies.

Pepper stared at his face, amazed at how much younger he looked then.

His chin was bare- and his eyes were dull, there was none of the debonair, blasé indifference that he had now.

But to her great despair he didn't cry.

He just stood, emotionless. Not a flicker of expression crossing his white face throughout the entire ceremony.

He didn't speak, just simply stood and listened to the man of God give the eulogy; if anyone wouldn't have known they would assume that he was attending the memorial service of someone that he hadn't known very well or whom he cared not a whit about.

Before and after watching the video- she never asked him about the service, or his parents. It was another thing that she just didn't feel right prying into.

Pepper gently lifted his head and placed it onto her lap- knowing that this would blow the "overbearing assistant" ploy out of the water.

But it was worth it- he really did need her.

"Sshh." She said soothingly. Bending close so that her words slipped right into his ear, she stroked his hair tenderly, the dark locks parted easily between her fingers.

He quieted slightly.

"It's ok Tony." She whispered. "You're going to be alright- I'm going to make sure you're alright."

It was funny- even though she had worked with him for at least 10 years now- it always bugged her to call him Tony

Sure, it had almost always been Tony in her mind; that's how she always referred to him when in her thoughts and inner dialogue.

It wasn't right to be on first name terms with her boss. Well, not a boss like hers.

If they were _that_ friendly, people would start to think that she had gotten where she was on more than hard work, and there had been enough speculation about that anyway, especially after he had taken to calling her Pepper-, which had happened after she had been working for him for two weeks.

She secretly thought it was only to annoy her- because the first two weeks had been filled with him trying to get her into his bed.

She had firmly although politely refused.

Therefore, he had simply begun calling her Pepper.

Not that she didn't call him Tony at all.

They were friends, if perhaps tentative friends- nevertheless, it had taken her at least 4 years to get up the courage to call him Tony.

_She had been riding with him in his beautiful blue Mustang going almost triple the speed limit. Pepper- clinging to her side of the car- had squealed his name just once as they nearly ran off the road during a sharp turn._

_"Tony?" He had asked, grinning fiercely and slowing down to a mere 90 mph._

_"It's your name isn't it?" She had growled at him in a rare fit of anger._

_He raised his eyebrows once- didn't make another comment, and continued their drive at a less frantic pace._

_By the end of the ride Pepper had wanted to kick herself, he'd won again._

He had calmed completely while she cradled his head on her knees- his breaths coming evenly and deeply as he fell into a deep and undisturbed sleep.

She realized suddenly that her other hand (the one that hadn't been skimming through his hair) was now firmly grasped in his.

He had seized it during one of the more violent parts of his dream and now- when she attempted to remove it so that she could quietly slip back to her own room- she found that he had no intention of releasing it- and if she pried any harder, he would wake up.

She sighed and groaned and cursed her terrible luck.

Although- to admit the truth, she had often fantasized about being this close to him. When he was the Tony Stark that she had glimpsed so rarely under the suit- before his Superhero suit of course- that was the Tony that she had fallen in- _she had come to admire_, and it seemed that _that_ Tony was the one that was primarily in control these days. She had seen more of him since his return than she had ever seen before, and it had made things that much harder.

"Has he had this happen before?" She asked the air above her in something that was barely a whisper.

"_Yes."_ Jarvis replied, sensing the need for quiet. _"Every night since he came back from his captivity."_

This information disturbed and saddened her- she had known that he had returned with scars- both physical and mental, but strangely enough for him, he had been loathe to talk about them and so she had left it alone. Another topic locked in the vault of things the two of them don't talk about.

"Does he usually sleep in a car?"  
_"He has over the past few weeks, although several times he has fallen asleep at his workbench and table, twice he fell asleep in the living room and eight times he slept on the floor next to his bed."_

"Did he say why?"

"_Yes," _Jarvis replied instantly. _"I asked him the first night he did this if I could make some alternate sleeping arrangements. He told me no, and that he liked the floor better, it was cool and then he made some obscure reference which ended in Cave Sweet Cave. I can replay the sound byte if you wish- there are no security risks on the tape that you are not privy to."_

"No." She said carefully, still digesting the information. "That's alright. I've got it."

Jarvis went silent, so did she, right hand still tracing across his scalp while he slept.

* * *

The home computer automatically adjusted the lights as the natural light changed outside- it woke Pepper and she realized the Tony must have set it that way.

She stretched carefully, as not to wake her boss, head still lying in her lap.

However, the light revealed to her something that she almost would have rather not seen- _**this **_was why he had taken to wearing long sleeves lately.

His body was covered with horrific marks.

The suit, for all that he promised her that it kept the bullets from getting through- was still not padded enough to keep him from looking like he had been though a meat grinder the previous evening.

She could almost swear that he had some damaged ribs.

Then below the bruises and contusions, were scars. They couldn't be too new, they were still that pinkish color that stood out so well when you were trying your hardest not to let them show.

In addition, they looked like they had come from hasty sutures. Like someone had patched up his entire chest in a hugely panicky hurry.

The majority of them were across his chest and around his heart- or the arc reactor; she wondered how she had missed them when replacing the reactor those two times.

Either she had just been too freaked out about sticking her hand into her boss's chest or he had gotten good at covering them up.

It was then that she became conscious of the fact that at some point, while she had been asleep during the night, he had let go of her hand.

Pepper made her exit as fast as she possibly could and slipped upstairs, she checked the clock on the way out- it was 6:07. She doubted that he would be up for another hour at least and Happy wouldn't be coming to work until 7:45 this morning. There was no danger of him catching her leaving Mr. Stark's house.

She could get home and change and shower and do all those morning things that she needed to do- and get back before anyone noticed anything different.

Pepper Potts smiled in triumph. No one –except Jarvis- would ever know what she had done that night.

A small part of her wished that he would have caught her taking care of him, and that maybe he would feel the same way about her- but she squelched that idea instantly.

More likely, he would ask her to accompany him to the master suite- And in the weak and unguarded frame of mind that she was in right now- she might agree to it.

That was not the way she wanted to go-That way led to her being seen out by the new assistant who got to make rude, veiled threats about her being a slut.

No. This was how it would stay; for now she was quite happy.

She had allowed herself to become attached, and she would eventually eradicate this attachment.

But the best part was… She thought again

No one would ever find out.

* * *

**If you liked it make like a critic and review, if you didnt, rinse and repeat.**

**It's my first Iron Man Fanfic, so bear with me, i'm getting the hang of it. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry kids, about not telling you that there would be more chapters, you see, i have this horrible habit of not letting things go with one chapter, and then it bugs me for days and i can't do anything else until i finish the thing.... so bear with me, there will be more, although not like 12 chapters more, more like, 4 chapters more. haha, sorry random thoughts, hope you like it. :-D**

* * *

Tony Stark woke up suddenly- as if bungeed from the warm comfort of slumber; to his surprise, he was rested.

He hadn't felt like he'd actually gotten a good night's sleep in well… a long time.

"Time?" He asked loudly to the ceiling, without opening his eyes.

"_Where sir? I can give you to-the-second time anywhere in the world, but you'll have to be more specific than that."_

He groaned loudly, stretching out inside the car as best he could.

"Here stupid… what time is it here? Now?"

"_8:17:43 Sir. On January the fourteenth, 2008."_

"Thank you Jarvis." He said,

"_You're Welcome Sir."_

Tony laid there for several minutes, just breathing. Pepper would be here in another 10 or so minutes, he knew that he most likely had a busy day. She would inform him of his required actions as soon as she came in the door. Looking stunning, even in the black suit that she always wore- staring in unworried fervor at her boss, then back at her blackberry. Frowning slightly when he argued with her about plans that she had already set in stone.

She should know by now- that Tony Stark always wrote in pencil.

It made her frown even more when he told her that. The little line would appear between her eyebrows.

_Wow._ Inner dialogue expostulated. _When did you fall head over for Miss Potts?_

_I didn't_

_Yeah. _The voice mocked. _Sure you didn't._

That was when he noticed the thing that had been bugging him sub consciously since he woke up.

He had a blanket draped over him.

He frowned. Maybe he'd finally remembered to bring one down last night…

Re-remembering the events of the previous night he couldn't quiet place whether he had or not.

He turned on his side, deep in thought.

That's when he noticed the frayed book that was lodged under the gas pedal of the car.

_Pride and Prejudice. _He read, after he'd leaned down and plucked it from its resting place.

This wasn't exactly on his approved reading list.

Tony settled carefully into an upright position. The bruises were now a veritable rainbow of colors all across him. He looked like a kindergarten class had had a finger painting hey-day on him.

It was Pepper's book.

He had seen it on her desk, or caught her slipping it into her purse when he would come out of a particularly lengthy meeting.

But when had she been reading it down here?

She never spent more than a few minutes at a time in his workshop.

Miss Potts was one of the only people in the world who realized what the workshop was to him. And she respected it. In fact, he really didn't mind her coming in any more.

"Jarvis?" He yelled again. Tony always made sure the computer was listening before he gave it a command. Jarvis always was, but Stark still did it, out of habit.

"Is Miss Potts in the house yet?"

"_No sir,"_ Was the immediate reply. _"She may be getting in a little late today. She had a late start,"  
_Tony scowled at the air in front of him.

"I told her to leave and get some rest- Jarvis, what time did she leave last night?" He would find out. Just so that he could possibly give her, a lecture on the value of sleep and how she shouldn't spend all of her time working.

"_6:04 AM sir."_

That couldn't be right

"Are you sure?"

"_Yes sir. The front door was accessed at 6:04:02 AM this morning by Miss Potts security code."_

Tony could almost hear a defensive tone in the computer's simulated voice. If he had known better he would think he had hurt the robot's feelings.

"She was here all night working?"

This was a bit much, even for his intent assistant.

"_No, she was asleep in the fourth guest room in the north wing from 11:27PM to 2:18AM. And then she was asleep in the workshop from 2:40AM until 5:55AM this morning."  
_This info caught him completely off guard. He could think of a few reasons that Pepper would stay the night at his house.

All of them were improbable and completely outlandish- but it could happen. There was only one thing that he couldn't figure.

"Why did Miss Potts come down to the workshop in the middle of the night?"

"_You were having night terrors sir."_

Tony suddenly remembered the dreams. They had been particularly convincing last night.

"How did she know I was having one if she was in the North Wing?"

"_I told her."_

"_Why_ did you tell her Jarvis?"

"_She asked me to." _

The computer played the request again.

"_If Mr. Stark needs help for any reason during the night. Contact me please."_

It was Pepper's voice all right.

"And you considered me having bad dreams to be a cry for help?"

"_Well sir, this one seemed to last longer than the others."_

"Ah."

Stark was at once slightly angered and embarrassed that she had witnessed his childish nightmares.

Something else bothered him,

"Where did she sleep when she came down here?"

"_She slept in your father's roadster."_

It took a second for Tony to register this, his brain felt heavy and befuddled. Maybe he had bruised_ it_ too.

He eyed the seat.

"Where?"

"_On the passenger side, sitting up. Your head was in her lap. She only fell asleep after you stopped dreaming. I can simulate a diagram if you like sir?"_

"No thanks, that will be all."

Jarvis recorded his master going upstairs, checking the fourth room in the north wing and there Tony stood stood there for several minutes, staring at the mussed bed.

Then he moved to his own huge room, placing the book he'd found on the end table next to his bed and jumped in the shower.

* * *

Pepper was standing in the living room when he finally came back out. She was-as usual- wearing the sober black suit as always, with her hair gently pulled back in a low ponytail.

She was pacing back and forth, arguing with someone in what sounded like German.

Tony stood in the doorway watching her until she noticed him- he moved into the kitchen and pulled out the orange juice and began pouring himself a glass. She followed him, speaking a little more quietly, Pepper noticed immediately that he was wearing a dark blue long sleeved shirt- open at the collar.

She loved this color on him, his hair was still wet from a shower and it looked jet-black, setting off the shirt perfectly.

She waited patiently as he drank his glass of orange juice and then proceeded to load his toaster with fragrant white pieces of bread.

"Good morning Mr. Stark," She said cheerfully.

"Morning Pepper," He replied, concentrating on the many different flavors of jelly that covered one of his kitchen shelves.

"How did you sleep?" She asked- and was amazed at her own brazenness.

"Quite well actually- like a big rock. How about you?"

He watched her face carefully, he almost assumed that she would confess what had happened last night, His assistant was notoriously bad at keeping secrets, and he prided himself in always finding out what she had planned.

She kept her face poker straight, not looking up from the phone in her hand.

"Fine." She responded in an already consumed monotone.

He made no remark and then selected the cherry flavor jelly and began liberally smearing his pieces of toast with it while listening to her outline his day in full.

They argued and bickered back and forth as usual- he got out of four meetings.

She frowned at him- the little wrinkle showing itself in an exceedingly adorable manner that distracted him enough that he didn't get himself out of a fifth meeting.

He moved to go upstairs and finish getting dressed as soon as they had finished scheduling him and he concluded eating.

He was almost to the steps that led upstairs when he turned around nonchalantly.

"Pepper?"

"Yes Mr. Stark?" She answered, glaring at the small screen as she rearranged his scheduling for the umpteenth time. She didn't bother looking up, which egged him to further surprise and antagonize her.

"I believe this is yours?"

This caused her to look up; he was waving something that she recognized immediately, although its implications didn't hit her until she moved to take it from him.

Their hands met for a split second and her blood suddenly ran cold.

She had taken it downstairs last night, but she couldn't remember bringing it back up.

Her eyes rose to his, he made no motion that he had any idea what was going on.

To her great chagrin she blushed to her roots… could she be any more obvious?  
He grinned, that grin that he had only for her and that made her a bit crazy- his normal floozies never got this smirk. This was his Pepper smile.

"You should be more careful where you leave your things. It could've gotten torn up underneath that gas pedal. Next time you fall asleep, make sure it's in a safe place first."

Then he was upstairs, getting his suit on for the board of directors meeting that was set to start in two hours.

_This was bad._

* * *

They were in the back of the car for a silent five minutes before she got up the nerve to say anything.

"You know then?" She squeaked. And then she wished she hadn't said anything.

He smiled his Pepper smile to no one in particular.

"Know what?"

_Insufferable man._

"You _know_ Mr. Stark. Don't play with me."

"Yes." He replied. "I do know."

Her heart dropped into her shoes.

"How did you find out?"

"Jarvis."

"Oh. The all knowing house monitor."

"To your credit- I wouldn't have figured it out for a while at least. But you made one fatal error."

"The fact that I did it in the first place?"

He grinned again.

"No, you left the book. That one puzzled me; I'd never seen you reading it in the workshop."

"It must have fallen out of my pocket when I came downstairs."

"And it magically crawled into the roadster with me?"  
"Yes. That too."

She was surprised to find him suddenly uncomfortable, rather than thoroughly enjoying catching her out.

"Um, about the nightmares…"

"You should see someone about them."

"No-" He interrupted. "No, I shouldn't. I'll be fine, they're no big deal. In fact, they are actually quite rare nowadays- you know, since I started building the new suit."

Pepper raised her eyes from the cell screen,

"Alright, maybe they _are _frequent… but I'll be fine."

His insistence of his fineness made her doubt his sincerity even more.

"This could be a sign of Post Traumatic Stress or even deep-seated emotional scarring. Mr. Stark- as a person worried for your well-being, you should talk to someone about this."

_A person concerned for his well being._

That meant that Pepper, and every person involved with his company was wanting him to go to a shrink. She was the only person he knew who could turn everything into business.

"No I shouldn't. There is nothing to talk about. I was held captive by a terrorist group called the Ten Rings for three months; I was forced to build a metal suit that protected me, as a means for my escape-, which was successful. I then was in the desert for two days before I was picked up by the US army, who brought me home. _End_ of story Miss Potts."

"Did they torture you?"

"No."

"Rhody said your x-rays showed torture."

Tony looked out the window.

"Thank you Rhody…"

"So you were?"

Tony sent a longing glance at the liquor cabinet in the corner of the huge car; he knew it was full-

"Yes. I was." He replied. Finally-

"Why?" Pepper, although she had known that he had been physically damaged when he came home from the desert, to hear him finally say it made bile rise to her throat,

"I didn't want to build the Jericho missile- when I refused, they decided to… persuade me."  
"For three months?"

He laughed, which made her jump.

"No Potts, they tortured me for two days. But in retrospect, they could have just taken my car battery away and I would have been dead in a week anyway."

"Car battery?"

"Yeah- you see Pepper, before I built the handy dandy mini arc reactor- Yensin had me plugged into an old car battery. I would have had maximum, 6 days if they took it away."  
Pepper's glance was involuntarily drawn to the place where she knew the reactor was, hidden underneath his beautifully tailored suit.

"How did you get them to stop torturing you?"

"Told them I'd build the Jericho. Made my last week the most important of my life."

"What?"

Reminiscing was more dangerous than he'd thought; everything came flooding back when he started talking about it.

"I told them I was building the Jericho missile- when I was in fact creating the mini-reactor. Something that would keep me alive when my battery was all used up."

"Then the first suit?"

"Bingo." Tony grinned capaciously. "And that is the secret, grand adventure of Tony Stark"  
Pepper knew it must have been worse than that; that there was much that he wasn't telling her- and most likely would never tell her. But she was glad that he had deemed her at least trustworthy enough to tell this little bit.

Happy buzzed through into the back.

"We're here sir."

Both heads jerked up toward the opening window between the two sections of the car.

"Thank you Happy- will you please drop us off at the front doors."

Their longtime driver nodded, and made the turn.

Ten minutes later they were at the building- Tony opened his own door, he always refused waiting for Happy to get out of his own side then come all the way around, just to do something that he could do himself.

He reached swiftly in, grabbing his briefcase out - she had just glanced down to her phone when she felt his fingers touching the back of her hand.

She glanced up in surprise-

"Thank you Pepper." He said quietly, and the depth of the emotion in his eyes made her tingle.

This wasn't the reaction that she had expected- she stared up into his face, unable to tear herself away, just like the night on the roof.

However, this time he was the one to break the connection. He pulled away, and was gone, traipsing into the building turning back once to smile just barely at the receding car.

* * *

Pepper Potts frowned as her phone buzzed for the millionth time that day.

_New Text Message: Mr. Stark_

Sudden realization struck her as she stared blankly at the lit up screen.

She pressed the button on the left of the screen-

The message opened suddenly even though she was expecting it.

_-Hi Pepper _

It read.

There was a smiley at the side… she smiled despite herself.

_-Hello Mr. Stark _

She slowly typed back, texting never took her any time usually, but this was a little surprising.

_-Mr. Stark? Am I in your phone as Mr. Stark?  
-Yes Sir… seeing, as that is your name._

_-That is NOT my name. _He replied with the not in extra bolded letters.

_-Yes Mr. Stark it is- if you've forgotten, check the heading at the top of the paper that should be lying on the table in front of you- the one that you have probably been drawing on for the past hour._

_-Ok, but it is not the name that I prefer and you know it. Change it to Tony NOW._

A few minutes later she received another message,

_-Did you change it?_

Pepper sighed in irritation and then began a new message

_-Yes_

_-No you didn't._

Tony grinned down at his phone, imagining her face as she opened his message.

_-Change it now. _He sent immediately after.

_-Ok, Ok it's changed._

_-You do know that I'm checking next time I see you._

She laughed- answering a phone call from the man from SHEILD-

Known for her miraculous ability to multitask she began scheduling the press conference and then her next message.

_-Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting?_

_-I AM in a meeting Pepper, and I'm realizing how insanely boring these things are without a large amount of alcohol in my system. The man who is leading the meeting is possibly the driest speaker I have ever had the misfortune to listen to._

_-He has led your board meetings since before you took control of the company. You have sat through 14 of his meetings since you became CEO of the company._

_-oh… so the alcohol comes into play._

_-Yes. You have been drunk during all of those meetings._

_-hmm, so this is a new experience._

_-Which means you should be listening._

_-But I am having such a fabulous time conversing with my favorite nurse._

Pepper Potts blushed all the way to her hairline, and completely lost her thought process with the phone conversation

"Excuse me, Miss Potts?" Said the special agent over their clear connection.

Potts was trying to remember what they had been talking about.

"Yes, yes, sorry sir, um we will be able to make that press conference tomorrow- and I'll be able to get him there on time… Oh you need him there early- is 15 minutes ok?... ok 30-35, why does he need to be there so early… mmhmm, mmhmm- ok. I will make sure he's there. Thank you, I'll talk to you later. Buh-bye"

Her phone buzzed suddenly and she almost dropped it.

_-I'm sorry._

Those two words made her stop suddenly- she was almost to the elevator doors.

_-I wasn't angry. I was on the phone. _Then a message that was immediately followed up by,

_-But thank you_

She had never heard him apologize to someone for any inappropriate comment that he had ever made. EVER. Especially the ones that aimed toward her. In fact, any time that she even tried to look offended he would just flash a grin that made most of his blonde, model-esque floozies melt into their shoes and follow him anywhere- although he rarely deviated from his favorite place to take them.

She pressed the down button in the elevator- a thoughtful expression on her face and her mind was filled with confusion.

* * *

"Welcome Miss Virginia!" The tiny oriental man smiled hugely as she slipped into the equally small restaurant that was three streets over from the Huge Stark building.

"I'm going to need the usual again Mr. Chung- Mr. Stark is in another long meeting- and he is going to be hungry."

The Chinese man grinned happily and then began to chatter off orders in his native tongue.

Pepper was learning Mandarin and began enjoying herself by picking up several of the rapid words that were being shot across the eatery.

Fifteen minutes later, she was sitting in a small folding chair in Mr. Stark's office.

He stormed in the door looking a little irritated and caught up in his thoughts- she stood immediately as he entered.

Mr. Stark stopped dead when he saw the little bistro table set up in his office, smelled the wonderful smells of Chung Woo's.

"Potts- this is why I keep you around."

He rushed toward the food with an expression of rapture and joy.

"I got all of your favorites- Lo Mien, Shrimp Fried Rice and Crab Rangoons."

He sat down immediately, reaching for the first tiny white carton.

It pleased her to no end to watch his face light up in childish glee as opened up the food filled treasure boxes.

She moved toward the door in complete silence- looking forward to kicking her shoes off in the privacy of her own office. Maybe this time she would even lock the doors- take a nap while Tony was in his meeting, if he needed her, he would call…

_Or text _

Her mind supplied.

"Where are you going Pepper?"  
She turned at the sound of his voice.

"To my office Mr. Stark."

Tony Stark then noticed the absence of a second chair and was instantly repulsed by his own ridiculous self-centeredness.

It was a miracle that he had stopped stuffing himself long enough to notice that she was leaving.

"You're not going to eat lunch?"

Pepper turned slowly.

"Yes sir, I am going to my office to eat some lunch."

"Why won't you eat here?"

"Because you're my boss,"

Stark was immediately frowning.

"This isn't the 1700's Potts; you're allowed to eat with me."

"But you are _you,_ sir. And that is why I can't eat with you."

There- she said it, why she was so stiff and formal with him, so unlike the Pepper in normal life.

Tony Stark stood- the Chinese food forgotten,

"That is an unfair judgment-"

Pepper frowned. She hated the hurt sound in his voice,

"Yes, my unfair judgment was totally unsound- only based on the constant stream of leggy women coming from your bedroom-"

"In my defense- they weren't all leggy-"

But thankfully they _were_ all women- he'd developed a screening process over the years, to make sure of that fact. He had to stay drunk enough that he couldn't remember their names in the morning- but not so bad that he couldn't tell what they're gender was.

It was a delicate ability, and he sort of made it a game to see how drunk he could get and still tell.

He was starting to see what Miss Potts was talking about.

"And yet I am not moved Mr. Stark. You are a degenerate womanizer- and although your invitation to lunch may be motivated innocently- it won't end that way. It never does- and I won't be able to resist- especially with you."

"_Especially with me?"_

Pepper wanted to hit herself in the face for letting that slip.

"And why would you think that I would treat you like that? It's _you_, Pepper- your special- you're different- _I_ am different, now."

Stark suddenly looked down at the floor.

The warm fuzzy feeling that spread all across her body at his words was not caused by the lack of food in her system.

_Her boss suddenly stood- and moved across to his stunned, flushed assistant._

_She reached back to the door handle, trying to get out of the office before things could get any worse_

_**Or better?**_

_But he was too fast for her -his lips were suddenly on hers- tasting her and she could taste him. There was a calm insistence in his embrace- even when she tried vainly to pull away._

_He was not going to let her leave that easily. He gently pushed the door- which was slightly ajar- closed- pressing her against the door and kissing her with a building intensity._

_To her unhappy realization, she realized that she was kissing him back, with all the passion that she had never felt for anyone else._

_He slipped his fingers through her hair and she slid her hands around his neck and into the soft, short hairs at the base of his neck._

_The reality struck her- that he was not groping at her or making any moves to take this to the next level- he was simply kissing her. Just showing her how much she meant to him._

_"I told you I was different." He said softly into her ear._

Then he was sucked back to reality- his stunning assistant was calmly staring at him after pronouncing his past activities.

He looked at her- trying to wipe away the daydreams that had just recently plagued his mind.

"I would never do that to you Pepper. You're different-_ I_ am different now." He gestured to the table filled with the white take-out boxes. "But on this point I will be firm, I owe you lunch at least, for helping me with my nightmares right?"

He _so _enjoyed watching her turn red in front of him.

However, to his delight, she agreed and grabbed a chair from somewhere in his office- sitting down on the opposite side of the table as they both began to dig into the food, for once in their careers together, they were not employer and underling or even Boss and Assistant.

They were friends- woman and man, with all the complicated feeling between them that should be there.

* * *

**So i'm assuming that if you've gotten this far you like it, even if you only like it a little tiny bit :-P**

**There will be more- the little voice in my head that is devoted to fanfictions refuses to let this one be done. So it looks like you're stuck with a bit more.**

**If you have any questions, comments, random bits of information, just review haha, and i will swiftly read them and be quite happy,**

**well anyhoo, until we meet again :-D **


	3. Chapter 3

_**So i love Iron Man, and i love writing for both Pepper and Tony. I hope you like it too- if you do, please review. :-D and i will be rather grateful**_

* * *

_6 Hours after the press conference,_

Tony Stark lay, looking at the delicate, inner workings of the vintage car above him. He had needed to find something to soothe him after being lectured- as he hadn't been in years- by Nick Fury, leader of SHIELD

It had been an impulse to release the information that he was in fact, Iron Man.

The moment had come when he could have begun reading the story about his yachting trip and his 50 guests, but then he had been hit in the face with all the ridiculous and moody superheroes that are isolated by their own anonymity- and he had wordlessly promised himself that he would not do that. Ever.

It was too clichéd.

Besides, he had enjoyed the stunned face of the ever-present and obnoxious blonde woman that had been berating him over the fact that his cover-story was flimsy at best.

A half-second after he said those fated words, he had caught Pepper's eyes as she stood in bemusement at the back of the room.

Her almost smile reached her eyes and she shook her head in amazement.

The SHIELD man only had the decency to look stunned.

Tony Stark had once again, amazed the world in one of his press conferences.

All Pepper could think was that she was glad that he hadn't had them sitting down for this one.

But then he had caught her eye- he had looked for her specifically, and it had warmed her to her toes, that he had sought out her eye above all the others in the room.

Tony had seen her flush pleasantly when he had looked for her- and then fended off the inevitable mountain of questions that were to follow.

Nevertheless, when he had finally collapsed into the quiet safeness of his limo- She had not been in the seat next to him- staring into the screen of the omnipresent palm pilot.

Happy'd informed him that she had gone to a meeting with the agent from SHIELD.

Tony did not let the disappointment show on his face and they'd driven home in virtual silence.

* * *

Five and a half hours later, he was working on his dad's old car with his music cranked up loud enough that most people couldn't hear themselves think.

It wasn't quite worth listening to unless it almost felt like the music was an entity of its own; that's how it felt when he had it up that loud.

Therefore, he was surprised to find her sitting at his worktable next to the car eyeing his plans for upgrades to the Iron Man suit.

"Hello Pepper." He said- and Jarvis immediately lowered the music volume until they could be heard over the electric guitar solo.

Pepper stood,

"Hello Mr. Stark."

"Been there long?"

"About a half hour."

"Why didn't you just turn the music down- like you usually do?"

"You seemed busy; my news wasn't pressing. I don't mind waiting."

He looked at the LCD readout of the clock that was flitting around the holographic screen above his worktable.

6:47

"I assume you don't have dinner plans then?"

This caught her off-guard. His topic changes rarely did any more, so he enjoyed that.

"No, I don't."

"Would you like to have dinner with me? Staff's gone so it will most likely be something cheesy and manly in origin, if you are willing to brave that."

She grinned at him after a moment's thought.

"Yes, I'll stay."

He wiped his hands on a clean rag and hauled himself painfully off the floor; his bruises were still a cacophony of color.

She was there immediately. Arm under his-

"You're not exactly boosting my manly pride by helping me get to my feet."

"Well- I thought it would be better than your pride sprawling across the floor after your muscles finally decide to give out from exhaustion."

He nodded sagely.

"You're probably right. You a fan of mac'n'cheese?"

Pepper nodded and released his arm. They made their way to the stairs and then began light conversation as they mounted the steps.

* * *

Pepper Potts lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling.

She had made a mistake- made him angry- or maybe just sad. His dark eyes had stared at her in surprise and need, and she had denied him that need.

* * *

They had passed dinner in companionable humor and small talk- talking of everything and nothing.

There was a small pause and Pepper suddenly realized how late it was, and that she needed to do so many things tomorrow, so she made her way to leave.

He, the gallant gentleman that he wasn't, walked her to the door.

"Are you sure you have to go now?" He asked, leaning against the doorjamb in such a way that she couldn't quite get past him although the door _was _open.

"Yes." She said with a sigh, sliding her hand through her bangs trying to keep her bun hairdo in. "I am sure, there is so much I need to get done."

"And you couldn't make some under-secretary/assistant person do it for you?"

She smiled faintly out into the night, as they both moved out to his beautiful front porch. A sweet and cool breeze stirred the balmy night.

"I guess that's a no then?" He whispered. The night and the stars seemed to encourage the quietness.

"That is a no. Life must go on."

"Well- no it doesn't- but when you have as much money as I do- life doesn't have to go on."

She giggled.

"But for those of us who have to work for a living-"

"Ouch." He replied, with laughing good humor. "That's harsh."

"And yet true."

They both stood, grinning foolishly.

He suddenly stopped, leaning closer and slipping a palm against her jaw line, gently pulling her close to him.

She breathed in the suddenly intoxicating air- watching his deep and endless eyes stare into hers.

"I am going to kiss you Pepper," He said quite calmly and forthrightly.

Then he did- pulling his mouth to hers with a feather's lightness.

She was lost in his kiss, it was as if her breath had been stolen away and that she was suddenly away into the night and was flying high above.

Tony, for all of his conquests, was completely taken by surprise with this.

It was like nothing that he had ever felt before. It was more than anything and it cost him less than all.

Their kiss was simultaneously deepened, on both sides; he was now holding her up. And she was falling into him sliding her hands around his neck and tickling the back of his neck.

"Come back inside-" He whispered, when they both stopped slightly for breath. "Come inside with me." He beckoned. The beautiful home looked _so_ inviting, too inviting.

"No," She whispered- and it felt like her will was being wrenched out from under her when he looked at her with those eyes. "I can't."

He relinquished her.

A look of injury across his face. Then he had turned and walked back inside. Closing the door with a single longing glance.

And she had gone down to her car.

A single tear rolled down her face- she smeared the wetness across her face,and went home.

* * *

"Alright Tony, what the heck is wrong with you?"

The millionaire ignored his friend and grabbed a larger wrench off the worktable.

"I know you can hear me." Rhody stuck his head under the car. "Don't even pretend that you can't."

Tony stopped, relaxing against the floor.

"Nothing is wrong Rhody."

"Yeah, and I'm going to quit the army and go sing opera."

His longtime friend eyed him in a way that said, spill it white boy.

"Actually you have an excellent Soprano voice-"

Rhody sighed and sat down on the workbench.

"You know, I _really _dislike you."

Tony rolled himself out from under the car and sat up, his head was throbbing and he still felt a little weak from that last outing as Iron Man. Attacking guerilla groups in Honduras had been a learning experience.

"I think I love Pepper." He replied bluntly- to his surprise, Rhody didn't even bat an eyelash.

"You _think?_"

"Well I don't know." Tony leaned his head against the car door- "I don't generally fall in love. It's a new thing for me."

"You've never been in love?" Rhody looked majorly surprised. "Really?"

Tony forced himself not to grin.

"Well there was Sadie Ridalfo in the 3rd grade. Her pigtails were so magnificent…"  
"You know you are the person who drove me to drink."

Tony smirked,

"If I remember right, the day we met you took me to an Army bar. Neither of us were lightweights."

"What did you do about it?"

"Well, I sat down at the bar, drank a bit. Then learned about 15 horribly inappropriate Army songs that I can never seem to get out of my head."  
"About Potts Nimrod."

"Oh… well I kissed her."

"And?"  
"Then I asked her to stay the night with me."

Rhody rolled his eyes and then made the fail, buzzer noise.

"For being brilliant, you're one stupid white son."

"I think I find that insulting."

"It was meant to be insulting. Idiot. Jarvis could have don't better, couldn't you Jarvy-Baby?"

"_I am not programmed for such a function, but perhaps if i-"_

Rhody glanced upward

"Shut it Jarvis, And what did she do?"  
"She got kind of weird, and then left."  
He pushed himself back under the car, allowing his best friend to mull over the facts.

Rhody took about 5 seconds to mull.

"Pepper isn't the one night stand kinda girl Ton-"

"Who said it would be a one night stand. It could have been the start of a beautiful relationship."

"A beautiful relationship started with something that you've asked countless girls to do? Right, that makes sense."

Tony cranked harder on the bolt that he was tightening,

"So I don't ask her to sleep with me- duly noted. But why did she get all wigged out?"

Rhody decided to let his friend's use of the word "wigged" slip.

"Pepper's different, Tony. She's not the dating kind, she is the kind of girl that you get really serious with, the marrying kind."

Tony wheeled himself out from under the car again, cocking his eyebrow.

"Sounds like the Army boy might have a little crush,"

Rhody laughed,

"Nah man, I'm already spoken for, and Pott's is a little too... smart, for my taste."

Tony sighed deeply, again.

"What if _I'm_ not the marrying kind?"  
It was a fair question; Tony Stark had not been serious about something since... well, _ever_.

"Then I would recommend leaving your assistant alone." Rhody stood, making his way toward the door. "I can tell that she loves working for you. I can also tell that a fling with you would be in her book, distasteful, and a conflict of interests. So my advice, whether you want it or not- is, _decide_- and then do your best to stick to your decision fully."  
"And if I'm really in love with her?"

Rhody grinned,

"Then God help us all."

* * *

_"Are those __**bullet **__holes?"  
_That was the first time that Tony thought he saw something past the normal worry for a boss.

Well, not the first time.

However, _that_ time it had been the most apparent.

There was no mask of business hiding the true Pepper underneath.

"Yeah- but it's not what you think-"  
Her eyes widened as the platform that he was standing on revolved slightly so that he could see her easier- the bullet holes were not the only things wrong with his suit.

"People were _shooting _at you?"

He grinned slightly

"Okay, maybe it _is _what you think."  
The TV that was on behind him was muted, but the Headlines did not need to be heard,

"That was _you?" _She said- her voice getting subsequently higher.

Her turned and looked at the TV

"Oh that... Um well yeah..." He smirked "Who knew that i could run with this hero thing?"

Pepper's shock turned to anger.

"You shouldn't have done that. You're a millionare, not a hero."  
Tony's smile faded.

"That hurts Potts."  
Pepper cursed inwardly,

"I didn't mean it like that-"

"I heard what you said Potts."  
"You know I didn't mean it like that."  
"Then how did you mean it?"  
He sat down on the stool in the middle of his virtual desk, his face inscrutable as he waited for her answer.

"I _mean _that you don't have to go _get shot at_ to be a hero."

"Haven't done anything else to merit it." He mumbled, and began planning repairs for the suit.

Her gaze softened as she watched him think.

His dark eyes staring at nothing, as complex problems rushed through his mind.

He was no longer listening to her- and it was okay.

She had stepped in it enough today.

"Yes you have." She replied quietly, knowing the many things that he had done since getting back. "You are a hero- to me at least." The last words were barely a breath, just a whisper. She walked backwards, leaving him alone in his work.

"Thank you Pepper."  
Pepper Potts paused on the last step- blushed and smiled, then went out the door.

* * *

Virginia Potts paced into the huge Malibu house, for the first time in years feeling completely uncomfortable.

_"Ms. Potts?"_

She actually jumped when Jarvis spoke to her, enough reason for her to want to walk back out the door and tell her boss that she was taking a personal day.

"Yes Jarvis?"

_"Mr. Stark told me to inform you that he is in the workshop, whenever you need him."_

Pepper cringed, trying to think up a plausible way to avoid her boss all day.

"Thank you Jarvis. I'll be down in a moment."

_"Very good."  
_She moved through the house, dropping off dry-cleaning, making sure that he had eaten over the weekend. General stuff like that, although usually by now there was a pretty girl standing in the hall that led to the master bedroom, looking a little dazed and confused.

Pepper almost pitied them when she saw their vulnerable faces as they realized, or more likely as it was finally driven home to their minds, that they were merely a distraction.

She _almost_ pitied them, just as they _almost _pitied her.

Nevertheless she didn't pity them, they generally repulsed her.

Her boss was rich yes, and charming and handsome and funny.

But he was also a notorious player.

If you were stupid enough to think that you meant something to him, then you were too stupid for words, and didn't really deserve pity.

Their examples should have prepared her for slight heartbreak, but she had fallen right into it.

Pepper was quite ashamed of herself, I mean really, how deluded do you have to be to think that Tony Stark might ever have even the semblance of real feelings?  
Yet.... There was that problem of him being so different since he came back.  
And... that moment on the balcony.  
And... their kiss.

"Hi Pepper."  
His voice was in her ear, she almost screamed at the closeness of him, and the fact that she had been just thinking about him, in a non-professional way.

"Hello Mr. Stark."

He was disappointed that she hadn't called him Tony, but he didn't let it show.

"What's on the menu for today?"

"Um..."

She was flustered, and quickly crammed her mind into the palm pilot.

"SHEILD wants another meeting."

"Mmmhmmm..." He moved toward the kitchen- pulling eggs out of the fridge. "SHEILD wants a lot of things- heck, _I _want a lot of things. Put it off a little, I have no immense want to see Mr. Fury for a few days at least. I think i sandpapered his shorts a few days ago at that press conference."

"Rhody is looking for you. He said something about a decision?"  
Tony Stark coughed into his espresso.

"Um...Did he say anything else?"  
"No." She watched him in fascination, wondering what had bothered him so much

"tell him-tell him- that I'll be getting back to him on that ."  
She liked red on him- it made him look young and carefree. Like before-

Pepper almost missed the man before- whose motto was Ready, Fire, Aim and who never looked back.

This Tony had feelings about things other than himself.

Things like making right what he had made wrong in the world. Taking responsibility.

It was eerie.

"What decision is he talking about?" She asked carefully.

"It's a proposal of sorts. I'm still not decided on it."

She frowned- and he found himself distracted by the style of her hair- _something _had changed.

"Did you cut your hair?" He asked suddenly- downing another espresso.

Pepper had told him to get help with the nightmares, and he had found a way to completely eradicate them.

Keep himself so caffeinated that he couldn't sleep- then by the time that he finally crashed, his sleep was so dreamless he didn't have to worry about a little thing like the Ten Rings.

Potts looked up from her screen in surprise.

"Yes- yesterday."

He studied it in greater detail- making her self-conscious but not uncomfortable.

"You know- it is standard protocol to inform your boss of any changes."

"It's my hair Sir."

He shrugged,

"Change is Change, i didn't write the rules, i just follow them."

The obvious lie that was that statement made her chuckle.

"Right sir- next time I paint my fingernails or straighten my hair, i'll be sure to send a memo."

They ignored the fact that they had kissed, he was not making it awkward so neither was she.

_Besides _She thought rationally, _He kisses girls all the time. It's not like I'm any different._

"I like it." He pronounced finally. "Warn the office, I'm visiting the South Testing Facility today."  
Pepper added it to the calendar in surprise.

"You're going to actually go?"

He turned, on his way down to the lab.

"I'll be out for a bit though. So, it will be later this afternoon- And yes, Richard Albie was my father's best engineer. Of course I'm going to his retirement party."

"Oh."

She had nothing to say.

The surprise in her voice both elated and embarrassed him.

"Oh and Pepper? Tell Rhody that I believe that I will be pursuing that proposal."

His assistant paused as she heard him chuckle while he went down the stairs.

No sign of the vulnerable man whose feelings she had shot down two days ago.

Only the Tony Stark that she... _admired_.

* * *

Rhody laughed lightly when Stark's poised assistant gave him the message.

"He said that? Word for word?"

Pepper frowned once again into her phone-

"Yes Rhody, now what's going on?"

Rhody then laughed like a small donkey

"You'll have to ask him."

* * *

_He had stared at her, with that ridiculously sweet clueless look that she had never seen before._

_She had been berating him about dancing with her, but truly, she was yelling at herself for allowing him to worm through her defenses like that._

_However, there he had been- standing behind her, looking so amazing in his tux and complimenting her dress._

_She couldn't help but smile, as he made sarcastic jokes about firing her, and then attempted to convince her that his social security number was 5, just 5._

_The flirting was unintentional, just like always when they were bickering, he always wore that smile, comfortable in his own skin while he teased her._

_Nevertheless, the balcony had been different. _

_He had stared at her eyes and hair, and made her feel like she was the only person in the world that he cared about talking to. _

_Pepper found herself chattering on and on about his reputation with women (as if he didn't know) and the fact that her dress was ridiculous._

_His eyes had been perfectly dark and fathomless then- and she had been sucked into them like nothing she had ever felt before. He wasn't cracking jokes, or making fun. He was just Tony- Tony who was clearly fascinated by the redheaded woman wearing no deoderant and and backless dress._

_Tony had seen her- standing across the room- back to him.  
__He had been intrigued immediately, and his mind was immediately divided, 1/4 to the agent standing and talking next to him, 3/4 to the beautiful woman in the blue dress standing across the room._

_She had laughed at something that the man in front of her said- and then turned slightly._

_Tony's heart thudded in his chest- as his mind went on overload._

_Holy Snap... __**that**__ is Pepper._

_Then some other part of his brain- the part with the sense of humor- began buzzing in his mind screaming REBOOT REBOOT_

* * *

Tony stared at the white skin around the arc reactor. Tracing his finger along the raised skin in sick fascination.

Not many people knew what Obadiah Stane had done that night.

How that he had used that machine to sear the tiny reactor loose from his partner's chest.

It had felt like someone had pressed a white-hot iron into his chest and then yanked out the vital center of his heart.

There was nothing that he could do as the magnet came loose and sent his damaged heart into a sluggish overdrive.

It had burnt into the outside of his skin- killing the nerves with a single iron burn.

Then Stane had told him that he was going to kill Pepper.

That hurt worse than his "heart" being yanked from his chest.

Stane could _not_ kill her.

Obadiah had smiled as he realized the chord he had struck by mentioning the assistant's name.

Tony's eyes had widened in fear and loathing- more so than when his mentor had told him that he had ordered a hit on him- more so than when he had taken the arc reactor from his chest.

Stane had threatened Pepper. Thus, he had made a vital error.

Now, the burns were one of the only things left to remind him of that night.

The bruising was starting to heal- the bones were mended. All that was left was that ring of white flesh.

Pepper Potts was alive. And for as long as Tony Stark drew breath, he would keep it that way.

* * *

**Ok- a plot started will begin next chapter, i was laying ground work so if you'd like more please review, although i'll pretty much write even if you don't :-P**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okays, sorry kids that i haven't been uploading with my usual vim and vigor but i've been insanely busy with school (failing Algebra 2 does such things to ppl) Anyhoo- hope you love it, those of you who actually read IRON MAN fics are awesome- since we seem to be a minority.. as usual- be sure to inform if you notice any bits that are off. Thanks to you ppl who have pointed out things that i missed.**

**And as usual- share the love when you finish reading :-) review and make the redhead rejoice  
**

* * *

Pepper walked into the huge Malibu house- she did not even look up anymore. Jarvis let her in automatically- and the only guy that had ever gotten into the house without authorization was Nick Fury and Pepper was not even sure that he _was_ human, so he really didn't count.

"Hi Pepper."

The music struck her at once- and her heart jumped awkwardly as it always did at the sound of his voice. Made even worse by the fact that she wasn't expecting it.

He had called her- late Friday night- and told her that he needed her at the house. Immediately.

It was almost 8:30, and she had been planning on going to the movies. Her dress was nothing, if not casual.

Tony couldn't remember the last time that he had seen her like this- Standing there, with her eyes open wide at the sight that greeted them.

"Happy Really Late Birthday Pepper." He said quietly.

Her hands dropped to her side- palm pilot forgotten.

The entire front living room was set up like a theater- even a popcorn machine sat behind the huge couch that looked like a giant movie-theater seat positioned in front of the giant screen that seemed to come down from nowhere.

He felt awkward suddenly- she was floored, and he was proud that she was surprised.

Then this sudden rush of shyness hit him and he wanted to run down to his workshop and work on the roadster.

This was not something that he was used to- women were easy to understand.

He was always completely at ease with them.

However, Pepper Potts was another species entirely.

He wanted her to be proud of him- to want him for his stupid irreverence for life and lack of tact, along with the endless list of faults tacked under the name Anthony Stark.

"You already got me a present." She pointed out- a look of slight glee spread across her face.

He cleared his throat and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Well um, that didn't count since I made you dance and remember my social security number- I also left you on the roof, which pretty much left the gift null and void." He shrugged uncertainly in that adorable way that always left Pepper breathless.

"You shouldn't have done that, I-"

"-No Pepper. I should have."

He used his "Boss" voice- he rarely did that.

"I really shouldn't..." Her voice trailed off hesitantly and he dared to hope that she wanted to stay with him.

"Ah well, you don't have to." He heard himself say, "But I have um- Space Balls, and Lethal Weapon and uh..." He looked down at the DVD's that were scattered across the in table. "Terminator, and Die Hard."  
"Any girl movies?" She chuckled, and he found himself waiting on every laugh that escaped her throat.

He grinned.

"I am nothing, if not prepared. And since there was the freak chance that you might actually stay- I prepared an entourage of girl type movies that a guy can watch without putting his manliness on the line."

"Such as?"  
He pulled another stack from the coffee table.

"How to lose a guy in 10 days, while you were sleeping-"

"Any old movies?"

He eyed the stack disapprovingly, he knew what was in it- and there wasn't anything over the age of 25.

"Miss Potts, I never figured you for an old movie lover."  
She shrugged and smiled.

"Always have been."  
"I didn't get any- wait!"

He took off down the hall, racing toward the area that housed his dad's old office, and countless other rooms filled with his parents' stuff.

Until this night, he couldn't force himself to look through it.

Pepper-, who knew none of this, followed him after realizing that he was gone and not coming back in an instant.

A door- that she had never seen open was now ajar, golden light flowed from it.

She pushed the door gently open- watching him rummage through cardboard boxes with a possessed look.

"What- what are you _doing?"_ She asked after several moments.

He kept digging, moving from box to box.

"My mom, she loved old movies. Especially the classic romances. I um- I hated them. But my dad always watched them with her, he- he bought her all of them that he could find.." He looked up at her suddenly- and the brief flash of his eyes looked overly bright. "Anyway." He continued, opening another box. "I know that they're here somewhere- Aha!"  
Tony motioned for her to come over- and she found herself standing next to a _huge _box filled to the top with orderly lines of old movies.

He laughed,

"They're all VHS. I didn't realize that she had this many."

Pepper gently ran a finger over the covers, smiling when the titles brought back good memories.

"_An Affair To Remember_, _That Touch Of Mink_, _Arsenic And Old Lace_, _Philadelphia Story, Sabrina_, _Roman Holiday…_"

"She- My Mom- loved Cary Grant-" His crooked smile showed that he was remembering.

"He was one of the best."

His eyes turned on her,

"Pick out few- if you want to watch."

"You don't want to Terminate things?"  
His smile was soft.

"Nah- I can Terminate any day, I haven't watched these since-" He coughed and stumbled over his words suddenly.

"-In a long time." He finally finished,

Pepper found herself struggling not to want to comfort him- the pain was not forced, or specifically called up to her to make her feel bad for him.

Tony almost seemed embarrassed to allow people a glimpse underneath the Iron Armor.

Pepper grabbed the whole first stack- ensuring that she would be staying for several hours at least.

"Do you even have a video player?"

He grinned, and stuck a hand in the next box over- pulling out a large, wildly outdated VCR.

"I came prepared."

* * *

3AM

Said the bright blue-green LCD readout when Tony pressed the remote.

They were halfway through Philadelphia story- and they were 2/3's through the first stack of movies.

Pepper sat, less than a foot away, her red hair had worked its way out of the severe low-pony that she always wore and was standing in unruly waves around her head.

Her feet were tucked up underneath her- she stared happily at the TV as the men and women moved in Black and White around the screen.

Standing- he moved into the kitchen to refill his large Coke, slipping hers out of the cup holder built into the couch.

He suddenly realized that at sometime in the night she had become comfortable with him.

A prime example was the fact that she had not noticed when he had left to go to the kitchen. She wasn't painfully aware of every movement that he made.

Thus the comfortableness.

He heard her laugh at something said on screen and found that his skin crawled in pleasure at the sound of her easy merriment.

When he entered the living room, he took a risk- sitting immediately next to her- and handing her the Vanilla Coke.

She noticed him suddenly.

"Thanks." She said- still occupied by the movie.

Therefore, he relaxed- just savoring the feeling of her next to him.

By the end, she was smiling faintly- her head drooping to fall onto his shoulder. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was deep- it was almost 4:30.

The credits suddenly appeared on the screen as the smiling faces of Kathryn Hepburn and Cary Grant filled the screen.

Tony now realized why his mom had loved these, and why his father had loved watching them with her.

The sudden memory of him coming home from MIT- to find his mom and dad sitting on the couch, smiling like high-school children while watching an old and outdated movie.

He had surprised them- and they had been delighted to see him, which had made him even more angry than usual. He had stormed to his room.

Tony frowned at the thought- he had been a horrible college age person.

Too interested with being angst-y and raging- coupled with his father's money and power, no one _but _his father ever told him no.

Everyone else remained cowed by the fact that his dad was one of richest men in the world.

Dear old daddy could not be everywhere with him- telling people to treat him like they would treat anyone, and so Tony got away with murder.

Until his parents were killed.

Then he had disappeared, found places where he could lie his way away from publicity and the eyes of the world.

That was until he turned 21.

* * *

_He had been arguing with someone._

_But that was his life- an argument, a swift and brief make up, followed by another argument._

_He had this amazing idea- something that had come to him in a drunken stupor the night before._

_At least he assumed that it was the night before… _

_However, once he got into work all of his father's ridiculous engineers had informed him that the technology that he was proposing was too advanced for the world to pick up on._

"_**Too Advanced?"**_

_He had screeched with that look in his eyes that always preempted a world changing idea- although no one knew how gifted Tony Stark was __**yet**__- he had only begun running the company four months ago._

_Obadiah Stane watched the young man from a deep in thought position in one of the lovely comfortable chairs that was placed around the main office._

_What had been __**his **__office until the idiot prodigal rolled back into town after boozing it up and dropping off the radar for four years._

_He was a brat- yes, but even Stane- completely wrapped up in his own plans for power- could see that the boy had a brain that Einstein would have envied._

"_Tony." He began in a placating manner, "They can't help it- they don't see the need in advancing __weapons technology that far."_

_Tony blew air out of his mouth in an infuriated and childish manner then threw himself down in the large chair that dwarfed his smaller frame. _

"_They have no vision Obi. The future of this company depends on vision." He smirked "And the undeniable facts that we men love our wars- but really- these men are absolute idiots!" _

_He was standing again- and pacing, pausing at the end of each turn to scribble another addition or idea to the large notepad that covered most of his desk._

"_Mr. Stark?" The medium sized skinny man who looked twice Tony's age and who was half afraid of his young boss entered timidly. "Your four o'clock is here."_

_Obi moved to stand- but Tony motioned for him to stay._

"_Tell my four o'clock that there's been a mistake- I'll see him some other time-"_

"_But sir-"_

"_Fired!" Tony sang out- then made a slight sweeping gesture to the horrified assistant standing in his doorway. "Yes, I'm serious! Get out!"_

_The little man was gone- never to be seen again in Stark Industries._

"_He didn't last very long." Obadiah remarked passively._

"_The man was clearly a moron- I mean really- he could see that I was busy."_

_Obadiah made no comment._

"_You think I'm spoiled don't you?" Tony didn't turn- just kept scribbling._

"_You _are_ spoiled Tony. You're just brilliant and rich- those two things give you allowances, keeping everyone willing to ignore your other… idiosyncrasies"_

_Tony grinned, despite himself._

"_I'm going to need a new secretary/assistant you know."  
Obadiah stood- and slowly made his way to the door._

"_I'll make sure__** my**__ assistant sends another one up soon enough."_

_Tony nodded, really not listening-_

"_Who was my four o'clock Obi?"_

_Obadiah chuckled- _

"_The president._"

**Later That Same Day**

_Pepper Potts sat in the beautiful lobby outside the main office in the SI building._

_She felt very young today- although she was the best in her field._

_It was hard, interviewing to a boss that she knew very little about. _

_All she had to go on was what the news and the agency had told her._

_The man with the most brilliance that anyone had seen in a decade. Or more._

_He was also extremely temperamental and known for his unhealthy habits and bad temper.  
Nevertheless, working for him would give a jump start to her resume and that would be worth it- even if she only worked for him for a few years._

_That is when she realized that someone was standing in front of her- staring in a bemused expression at her seated form._

_A kid stood there, well- she couldn't really call him a kid- he looked to be about her age. Dark hair, dark eyes, nice suit. She noted these things with a professional glance. _

_Very young._

_Maybe an assistant or aide?_

"_Can I help you?" He asked- his voice was a medium tone, with the slight hint of a smile in every word, "The model agency is sadly in the next building- I can have one of the secretaries show you the way-"_

"_No-" She politely interrupted, "I'm here to see Mr. Stark about a position as his assistant. Although," __she continued frowning "My appointment was supposed to begin over an hour ago and he still hasn't showed up…" She sighed, and then smiled at the man patiently listening to her. "They said he was slightly inconsiderate of __**everyone**__."_

_He smiled hugely. _

"_He is."_

_She eyed the man with new interest._

"_You know Mr. Stark?"_

"_Personally." He responded immediately. "You could say that we work together."_

_Pepper nodded- interested immediately._

"_When do you think he'll be here- I haven't had lunch yet so I would like to know as soon as possible."  
The man frowned._

"_I'm sure he would have been more punctual had he known who he was keeping waiting- although since I'm here, and you're here and we're both starving- we can go to lunch, I'll conduct the interview and relay my notes to him."  
Pepper still didn't understand who this guy was- or how he was related to the company- but this sounded better that her waiting in this lobby for another hour- besides, this guy was cute. Maybe they could be friends if she got the job._

_Similar tightness welled in her heart as she started the interview, discussing the type of work that she would be doing and what her hours would be as a personal assistant etc._

_The lunch was fabulous, the time ended with her reentering the SI building, and going into the huge office that belonged to her prospective employer- a few things immediately caught her eye. Giving hints about the secret character of Mr. Stark._

_His desk was cluttered with papers and drawings of various bits of machinery._

_You could pretty much tell anything about anyone by their desk._

_The man- whose name was Mr. Anthony (He had chuckled when he had told her his name, she had wondered why)- had moved across to make a call on the large button filled phone on the desk._

_Pepper eyed several of the pieces of paper- reading the different logistics jargon that was scribbled all over it,_

_After his phone call- he came over to stand beside her- eying the page that she was looking over._

"_So what do you think?" He asked carefully._

_She shook her head_

"_This is an amazing tech plan- clearly decades above all the competitors- But here-" She pointed. "He's made a mistake- this should be multiplied against the inverse or the fuel burn will be halved."_

_Anthony eyed her with surprise and admiration._

"_You're hired." He said._

"_Really?"_

_That's when the hulking frame of Obadiah Stane came striding through the door._

"_I swear to God, Tony Stark- if you skip out on another meeting that you __**promised **__to be in- I'll put the hit out on you myself-" The large man seemed to suddenly notice the stunned redhead standing in front of the desk.  
"Oh- I see you've met Virginia Potts- she's the assistant that they sent over for you to interview- she supposed to be the best that they have,"  
Tony Stark nodded, enjoying her shock like he hadn't enjoyed something in years._

"_Yes, we' just had lunch- Meet my new assistant."_

* * *

She had almost denied the offer to be his assistant, but even when he was the most ridiculous and her life the most lonely- she couldn't leave him.

That was all that there was to it.

She ran his life like the wife that he didn't want- so she had put up with him, and all of his infuriating and endearing ways.

No denying it-

She loved the man inside the suit.

* * *

Dreams and reality seemed to bend and sway as Pepper came to- her head gently rose and fell as they breathed. The warmth that curled around her body- he was there- the arc reactor humming so gently that she almost thought that she was imagining it.

Tony was fast asleep- his arms almost around her.

When Happy slipped in at 9:30 the next morning, he found them. Curled against one-another.

Happy Hogan finally showed the smile for which Tony had nicknamed him all those years ago.

The large man was slow to smile- but this, this was worth cracking his face into that unnatural expression.

It was classic- this was what he had been watching for years.

It was like some sort of strange soap-opera.

The man that employed him, and the only other personal employee of the man that owned Stark Industries were a constant source of entertainment to the calm driver/chauffeur/anything-else-Mr.-Stark-needed.

But Pepper- Pepper was always kind and witty and completely capable of doing anything the bratty millionaire needed.

This was something that he had waited for- it would be interesting to see how it played out.

* * *

Dubai was beautiful this time of year- the warm breeze swept across the sea with the slightest scent of flowers.

Pepper sighed inwardly- wishing that her family could see her now- walking amongst the rich and famous as if she belonged.

But she didn't. No matter how long she worked for Tony Stark- she would always just be the woman who worked for Tony Stark.

She smirked- Tony belonged only by birth anymore- he was never one for the snobbish traditions of the rich and famous.

The assistant was always finding him- building and having fun in general with anyone that he could find- no matter what their economic status was.

"Pepper!" The man in question shouted, His eyes alight with pleasure. "Pepper they're going to let me test out the-" Which was followed by a long ramble of technology which Pepper understood easily.

He was excited that they would let him touch their technology- Pepper knew that they were lucky to have him mess with anything technological.

He could fix anything- and it was good for him to be away from America, where IRON MAN was on the lips of every household.

Tony had hidden at his house for weeks- only going out on missions- and even then- only missions that would not be televised later.

He had been closeted recently with the leader of SHEILD- A tall, stern man with eyes that saw through you,She assumed in more than one way.

Anyone that came with Mr. Fury had gave her the eeriest feeling that they were much more than they seemed.

The most recent one- was a mild mannered man with electric green eyes.

Bruce Banner was his name, And he smiled and was as polite as any man she met.

Tony laughed at him and made quiet jokes- but nothing like his usual ribbing. He was cautious around the quiet man, and Tony was never cautious.

"Mr. Banner seemed like a good man. How do you know him?"

Tony actually laughed out loud-

"Pepper- I _do _know good people. I just never could stand their company before. They made me feel bad about myself."

Pepper hated these awkward moments when he would reveal himself to her. Those innermost thoughts that had plagued him throughout all of the years that she had worked for him- that she had never known about.

He was so much more open now- as if he wanted her to know that he was human.

This made her feelings for him- which were terrible at best- even more difficult to control.

That, and the irritating fact that he was a good man. In the Iron Suit and out of it.

He went to his meeting (well, most of them... if they were important... usually). But other than that, she hadn't seen a woman come out of his house in the weeks since he had returned.

Her boss rarely drank- which was extremely unlike himself. He was the same ball of energy with the bright eyes and abrupt manners.

She genuinely enjoyed working for and being with him in these days.

But she- of all people should have known that this would not last.

* * *

**The last few paragraphs are a little ADD- but that is how Tony struck me, never on the same thing for more than like 2 seconds. Haha, sorry if it drove you nuts- i'm about halfway through the next chapter, hope you liked this one.**

**Really short i know- but i felt bad for not uploading for so long so i thought i'd give you _something_ to read and review *cause of course you're going to review***

**Anyhoo- thanks for reading- **

**until next time,**

**Red  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Another short-ish chapter. Sorry you all who actually read this. I have no idea how long the next one will take. **

**Hope you like this :-) as much as i enjoyed writing it.**

**Please read and review.  
**

* * *

For the first time since building the suit Tony felt afraid.

Shells burst around him, the cold seemed to penetrate the suit's inner workings- the noise burst in and out, Making him pant and wince as the night lit up.

Pain filled his chest.

One of the bullets must have pierced the armor- his upper thigh throbbed. He knew he was bleeding from the wound. It hadn't clipped anything vital, like an artery. Tony knew that he would be feeling more light-headed if he were.

Or this was the feeling of him dying.

"_Sir your suit is losing integrity slightly. And you are starting to become lightheaded because of your blood loss."_

"Thanks Jarv. Didn't notice. Um... could you please see if the wound is mortal."

"_Of course sir."_

He was thrown violently to the side- the snow was beginning to fall.

Visibility was zero-to-none- this was getting dangerous. Well, more dangerous than usual.

This had been a mistake. This had been him, heading into direct suicide- And he hadn't cared.

It was better than sitting at home- Planning soppy ways of telling Pepper that he loved her.

He did.

Scary thing though it was.

He was purely fascinated by the redhead that he had looked at for so long- and had never seen.

It shamed him that he was that man that all the woman hated, the man that only saw the diamond in the rough when he was tested. It irked him that he had ignored her for so long- so he had left the house, embarrassed to think that he would have to pretend another excuse to stay in her company.

He was afraid that she was going to start noticing- another blast exploded near him.

He hit the side of the the gorge that he had been attempting to fly out of for the past hour. He had gone in- to rescue two hostages held by insurgents down in the mountains of Nepal.

It had been stupid.

The information that had come in told that the men were well fortified and armed.

_That_ had been the reason that there hadn't been a rescue team sent in. Everyone knew that it was a mission to the death. It was a mission that would fail.

His thigh ached miserably. The cold was coming in through the bullet hole, It was freezing.

Even with the suit modified he had to constantly reheat his visor to clear the eye pieces.

This had been the worst of mistakes- he knew it now- it was the chime that resounded in his head as the blast through him into the mountain. There he stayed. The wind knocked out of him as severely as it had been the day that he faced Stane and he took quick panting breaths- gulping the filtered air into his lungs.

The cold could not be taken from the air- and it seared the inside of his lungs as if by fire.

The snow mounted the suit- he felt frozen.

The air was quiet. The enemy couldn't see him, and thus they had stopped firing into the snowy night.

It was the quiet of a winter wonderland.

But he was in no mood for the usual great amazement he held for things such as a rainstorm or a flurry of snow.

Although he couldn't be sure it could be classified as a flurry.

Great heaping mounds of snow were piling everywhere. He was so tired.

But he couldn't just leave those people.

Resolve flooded through his body, strengthening it.

_I AM IRON MAN. _

He had said that only a few weeks ago- he had proudly proclaimed those four simple words. Words that hadn't really sunk in until he had slipped into his house and thought the whole thing through.

But he was glad that he'd done it-

He was starting to have trouble breathing...

Without engaging his lifters- he pushed himself off of the ledge- falling like as bullet toward the stone floor.

The mercenaries saw nothing as he silently plunged.

He engaged his lift only at the last second- sending a flash of light around the canyon, bullets flew everywhere.

Darkness returned and the only sounds where the occasional smattering of bullets as the soldiers kept firing into the night- he cursed even the slight whirring of the gears in his suit.

The cave was up ahead- Jarvis gave him commands as to where everything was.

There was also a 3-D topographical map that filled a small section of his constantly moving screen.

That made things a great deal easier- he slipped through the main defenses, sending out constant sensory searches for the heat signatures of the men around him.

There were at least twelve of them- he felt his stomach lurch. Too many if he alerted them- at least in this state, being wounded as badly as he felt would not help anyone.

The cave felt close- it was too tight- if anyone decided to patrol the narrow hallway that he was slipping down, they would have definitely noticed the large gold and red man attempting to creep down the passageway- his suit literally wheezed.

It was riddled with holes and the inner framework was open for the world to see.

But thankfully- no one decided to patrol that corridor.

There was a long open area as you came in- most of the men were outside, staring into the night for the man that was attempting to steal their prisoners.

The passage narrowed after about 100 steps- the memories were very difficult to suppress, he saw Yensin dart past him, the gun that so did not suit him carried in his hands.

But that was where the memory faded- and Yensin was left, standing there with that inscrutable expression on his face that Tony had become so fond of.

"Hello Tony Stark." He whispered kindly.

"You're dead." Tony imbibed- his eyes picking out the patterns on the rocks through the ghost. "I can see through you." He pointed out.

"And? You're about to join me if you don't get your sorry self off of the floor."

The millionaire rolled his eyes,

"I'm not on the-" Then he realized, much to his irritation, that he was collapsed against the cave wall. "Oh..."

"You keep passing out." Yensin said with a grin. "Which although impressive is something that will most likely get you killed."  
Tony panted briefly, after realizing that he was too winded to speak.

"Well, apparently I'm bleeding out. And now I am talking to a dead guy. Who is _mocking _me."

Yensin laughed- moving to help his old friend up.

"You are not bleeding out- you are just injured. And I am not as much of a figment as you would suppose my friend."

Tony moaned- leaning into the cave wall heavily.

"You know, Yensin-" But the figment was gone.

Iron Man trudged wearily down the path.

* * *

Nina and Trevor Gallagher had been held by the Nepalese mercenaries for too many days to count.

They had been living with tribesman up in the mountains- photographing and filming the never seen way of life.

It had been a fascinating assignment, they had been enjoying themselves thoroughly.

But then these men had come, with their guns and knives, spoiling the tiny village that the two film students had been living in, and taking the Americans captive.

Their captives had not been treated too terribly- they were given food and exercise daily.

That was up until a few days ago- the men had filmed them, speaking angrily in their own language.

It was every captives nightmare- they were being offered up for ransom- and there wasn't a chance that they'd be rescued.

No one could get down into the tiny bottleneck canyon that they were being held in.

By the looks on the men's faces after their demands were not met- the two photographers would be dead soon enough.

Nina stumbled back from sleep- there was the most odd whooshing noise reverberating around the small room that was their prison.

Trevor slept deeply next to her- his eyelids fluttering in dreams.

That's when she noticed the giant robot standing in the place where their prison door had been.

"Trev!" She gasped, rubbing the sleep from her eyes to find the giant gold man still there.

Her companion murmured, so she nudged him with her elbow- and he squealed in pain.

"What the-"

His scream was cut off by a huge gold hand being clamped over his mouth.

Nina- her friend being apparently strangled by the evil robot man, prepared to attack him accordingly.

"HOLD ON!"

The gold, alien helmet folded in on itself to reveal a pale man with intense brown eyes.

His shout hadn't been loud- it had been quiet and filled with intense irritation.

"I'm here to _rescue _you!"

Nina paused mid strike, and Trevor's face was released as he allowed himself to be quieted.

He whimpered and scuttled over to his friend's side.

"Who are you?" She said- her eyes wide with terror.

"My name is Iron- Tony- My name is Tony. I'm here to help you get away."

"_Tony?_" Trevor looked a little non-plussed. "You wear _that_, and call yourself _Tony?"_

Tony Stark- narrowed his eyes in thought-

"Yeah... that is a good point. But for now- I need you guys to follow me. There's a Humvee waiting for you outside of the canyon, all we have to do is get you there."

Nina, who immediately liked the man in the Iron Suit, nodded quickly.

"What do you need us to do?"  
Trevor- regarded Nina as the leader of their expedition- followed along as the man who called himself Tony explained their roll in the escape.

* * *

"_Miss Potts?"_

The computer's synthesized voice almost sounded worried.

"Yes Jarvis?"

"_Mr. Stark is coming in from his mission, you may want to call a hospital- or some other form of Emergency care."  
_"What? What do you mean?"  
She was already on her feet- moving to where the giant hole had been refitted with a specially made door that led straight down through the house into the workshop.

When it was closed there was no way to tell it was even there- the door was covered over with regular flooring just like usual.

She heard it open- the slight whir as the doors opened- and then the whoosh of the extra-lite engines that kept her boss afloat.

The suit dropped like a stone through the gate.

There was a blur of red and gold- then nothing, and there was another whir of his lifters followed by a crash.

"Jarvis call 911. Tell then to bring an ambulance."  
_"Yes ma'am."  
_She ran downstairs- finding her boss lying limp on the workroom floor.

The machines were already attempting to remove the suit- although it was proving difficult since he was not standing upright.

When she saw him up close she gasped, there was blood everywhere. More blood than she had ever seen in her life- his suit was in pieces, mangled bits of gold and red twisted around his poor body in a grotesque manner.

The worse injury was done to his lower back- it looked as though something huge had torn a hole in the back of his suit- leaving metal, flesh and muscle in ribbons.

"Pepper?" He gasped- she fell to her knees, pressing a cloth to his oozing back and pulling his head onto her knees. "Did I get home?"  
He wasn't completely awake- she could tell by the constant rolling of his eyes and the unfocused gaze that swept the room.

"Yes Tony, you're here. You're home with me."

His smile was weary,

"Good- I was hoping that I wouldn't die out there."  
He passed out again- and Pepper found herself praying that the ambulance would get there in time.

* * *

The captives had gotten to the US Humvee that Rhody had sent to pick up the photographers.

That was not the problem.

The problem was keeping the mercenaries off the Humvee's tail long enough for them to get away.

He hadn't been expecting the rocket launcher- he had been dodging bullets, trying not to pass out on the icy ground fluttering below him- his mind had been full of other things to worry about.

So he did not expect the rocket launcher.

Tony had just turned away from the enemies, watching as the Humvee slid into safer territory.

He had made a vital error. He had turned his back on an armed enemy.

That of course, was when they fired the weapon.

It had hit him so hard that it had knocked all of his computer systems off line for a few seconds- he had hit the stone wall that jutted up squarely. Knocking all the wind out of his body.

"Jarvis?" He had managed to gasp out.

"_Yes sir?"_

"Can you get me home?"  
_"Sir- I will engage autopilot immediately."  
_ The hand lifters had flickered into life- and Tony felt himself being propelled skyward.

Something was wrong though. Worse than just getting shot at, something was desperately wrong.

That's when he had passed out... the first time.

* * *

The hospital room was quiet- except for the mind-numbing beat of the monitor beside his bed.

He felt out of mind. They must have him on some heavy pain-meds. His brain felt like it had turned to Jello, and the thoughts that he could assemble into some sort of coherent thought, took so long that he could barely remember why he had been thinking them by the time that he figured them out.

There she was... her red hair glinting in the white light of the hospital room.

"Pepper?"  
He asked, and his voice barely reached her ears.

She stirred slightly from sleep- and her eyes opened to fix on him with joy (he enjoyed that) she smiled truly and genuinely.

"Tony, you're awake! How do you feel?"  
He moaned.

"Terrible- I could use a large tall alcoholic beverage, preferably."  
Potts' eyes widened.

"You can't drink. We're in a hospital."  
His face became distinctly serious.

"Pepper, the few times that I have been in a hospital have not been fun times for me. I would like for you to feel some sympathy- and get me something that will possibly keep me happy for the next week."

"I can't do that Tony and you know it."

He grinned.

"I could fire you, if it would help."

Pepper shook her head

"No. That would make it easier. I would just ignore you without as much trouble."

He relaxed onto his pillow with a world-weary sigh.

"You're the worst assistant ever you know that? If we were in the military, I could have you Court Marshalled."

Her eyebrow arched gently

"Thank God I'm not in the army" She replied quietly.

And he grinned at her- making her grin in response.

But as I said before- Pepper should have known that nothing good ever lasts.

Tony was about to speak, when the Doctor came in- ready to deliver some news that would change his life forever.

Pepper not knowing this- rose and left- closing the door as she went.

* * *

Tony woke up- the monitor's beeping was making him insane. He took the flimsy cup of water that an orderly had brought and threw it across the room.

It connected with the wall with an unsatisfying clunk. The water inside splattered against the wallpaper staining it dark.

Pepper was there in seconds- appearing in his room- a soothing hand on his arm.

"Tony what is wrong?"

He swore at her- told her to get out, ignoring the pained look on her face as he turned on his side, as he disregarded attempts at calming him.

To his his immense dislike she stayed- watching him sit and stew long into the night.

* * *

_Four Days later_

They wheeled him into his Malibu house. He didn't protest or look up.

He sat, unseeing as Happy attempted to converse.

His life was over.

He knew that- there was nothing else to it.

"Where would you like me to take you sir?"

Tony woke from his reverie.

"The workshop- just leave me in the workshop."

Happy wheeled him to the elevator- and pressed the down button.

Which was where Pepper found him four and a half hours later.

Staring at nothing- in the center of his virtual desktop.

"Get out Pepper." He growled. "You don't need to be here until Monday."  
What made her the most angry was the fact that he hadn't even looked up- ordered her about as if she were some half-rate human slave.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what is wrong."

A redhead angry is not a funny thing to see- Pepper, unlike most natural reds, had a very long fuse.

But what she lacked in a quick temper was made up for with the explosion of anger once it all happened.

"Get _Out!"_ He roared, his eyes blazing with equally as hot anger,

"NO!" She yelled, "I will not! Not until you tell me what is wrong! You were fine until a few days ago. And now you won't talk to anyone. You're angry at everything! I care about you Tony Stark. But right now- you're not giving me much reason to do even that."

His eyes widened- and then narrowed.

"I can't walk Pepper."

His voice was numb- broken beyond repair.

"I- I took a rocket to the back. Apparently the suit couldn't handle it at such a close range. The doctor told me that I am paralyzed from the knees down- and localized paralysis in my hips-" His eyes slid shut for a second and she realized that he was in a great deal of pain. "Short version is, I'm a cripple." He sighed deeply. "and for the first time in my life- money isn't going to make it all better."

The cynicism in his voice plunged past anger into sadism and bitterness. Even at his worst he had never been like this.

"Is there any surgery-"

"No."

"And you cannot walk at all?"

His eyes briefly raised to her.

"No."

Silence dwelt between them, for he had nothing to tell, and she had nothing to say.

What was there to say? He was not joking, he was lost in a cloud of anger and loss.

She couldn't help herself, she wanted to help him- it hurt her when she was in pain. But this was something that she wasn't sure that she would ever be able to help him with.

"What are you going to do?"  
His eyes were flat.

"I'll make do."

"You'll have to give up IRON MAN." She said quietly

The rage was back in his eyes, overbearing the other emotions in his being.

"You think that that has passed my notice Ms. Potts? My life is over. Because I attempted to be a hero. I was never meant for it- I should have known that from the beginning."

He was half talking to himself- sorrow quickly overwhelming the anger.

"If you would like to quit. I will understand."

Pepper stood there a long time. Just watching the man in the wheelchair- the man who seemed so opposite of her boss of less than a week ago.

He did not look up when she left.

* * *

**So yeah- i fell into the terrible fanfiction habit of leaving my poor readers with a cliff hanger. So sorry all of you- but i felt the irrepressible urge to upload a chapter and this was how it went. :-P **

**If you liked it, review por favor. And if you didn't, well you can also review and i'll still like it.**

**Ah well, have fun, **

**Red  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**This has been a longtime coming- mostly because i am an impatient person at heart and i was ready to end the story with some shameless fluff- but i CAN'T.... because it wouldn't be fair to the poor voices inside my head that are telling me how this story is REALLY supposed to go.... so bear with the crazy redhead.... she's writing as fast as she can :-) ENJOY**

* * *

The next morning she arrived- bright and early.

Tony wasn't in his room.

She really had expected that, he hadn't slept in his own room for ages now.

He was there- sitting in his enormous workshop, looking so small in his hospital issued wheelchair.

Asleep, a peaceful look on his face which belied his words and actions of the night before.

No, she could not abandon him. Not in this state- he was damaged- in more than body.

She would not leave him. She couldn't

The news got a hold of the story only hours later.

She could not have expected any more time.

Nevertheless Pepper wished that she could have had more time.

To the man who knew the outs and ins to every electronic part in the business- it was very difficult to keep him away from the various mediums that the news could be heard from.

She caught him- sitting in the wheelchair- staring up at his own picture.

It must have been fate's terrible sense of humor- the only picture that they showed of the multi-billionaire was one where he was standing.

_Standing._

His eyes were dark and unreadable. He listened to the callous broadcast.

Apparently an orderly had leaked the news.

Tony Stark was a cripple.

Now _everyone_ knew.

"Mr. Stark you have four appointments today. One with your health advisor, the other three are board of director meetings that you have been requested to attend."

"Not today Pepper."

"But Mr. Stark- they need you to-"

"No Pepper, I don't want to go out and play. I don't feel like it. Not today"

Doing something that she rarely if ever did- Virginia Potts silenced her palm pilot and placed it on the table near the front door.

"Do you ever feel like doing anything anymore Tony?"

He bowed his head,

"No. I don't Ms. Potts."  
"So this is what beats you. _This _is what finally defeats the great Tony Stark. _If_ _**you**_can be named the same as that great man."

He lifted his head, his dark eyes were dull and shallow.

She turned the TV off and came to stand in front of him.

"I was watching that." He said quietly.

"Why?" She yelled. "To bemoan what you have lost? You are the shell of the Tony that I knew. And I know that- I know that because I _cared_ about that man."

His eyes snapped to hers- and for a second she saw a flicker of the man that she had just proclaimed her love for.

_Oh... I really just did that...._

Tony's eyes then took on the cynical look that she had come to hate.

"Ah- so loving the cripple is too much for my poor poor Pepper. Your unswerving loyalty is only so strong- it limits itself to a strong healthy, preferably rich Tony Stark." His smile was cynical, poisonous, "I am _so _impressed Ms. Potts."

She stood there- blanched white at his words.

He had been cutting and horrid and he had made her want to throw up.

"You think I would not love you because you can't _walk_?"

Her voice was barely a whisper- and her eyes were suspiciously red.

Tony felt a twinge to his heart as he watched her begin to cry.

"You made it quite clear."  
"That is not what I said." She replied, and the rage in her heart was attempting to heal the break that was tearing it apart. "I would not want this man you are now- Even the Tony Stark that drank and womanized was never quite as horrible as you are right here right now."

He said nothing.

"I will save you the awkwardness of firing me. I will send my letter of resignation to you as soon as I can type it out," Her words were cut and dry- but her eyes were filled with tears.

"Do not doubt the sincerity of my words. As brief as they were. You are a fool to have jumped to that conclusion."

"How _could_ you be attracted to me now? Not in this state."

Pity and rage flowed through her- she wanted to slap him- to beat him back to where he had been before.

She also wanted to comfort him- to pull him gently into her arms and soothe away all of his pains.

But she could do neither- he was beginning another tirade on her ineffectual love for him. Instead of listening- she bent swiftly and pulled his face to hers.

She intended to kiss him for only a second- to prove a point.

It lasted more than a mere second- and she found it very difficult to pull her lips away from his.

They were cold and unresponsive- as if the suit had attached itself to his mind- making him as Iron as the alter ego that he had created.

He pulled away from her embrace- and turned the wheelchair toward the elevator that led down to his workshop.

She stood there- tears running down her face and then turned and left.

Pepper Potts did not see Anthony Stark for six months.

* * *

Tony Stark refused to leave his house

He sat in his chair- depressed.

Happy would arrive every morning- to be sent away by his boss in less than an hour.

No one came or went to the giant albescent home on the hill.

Food was sent for- business was done in any way that did not include him leaving the house.

Happy was worried about his boss- as the days passed he lost more and more weight- and his hair grew longer and longer- unkempt and gaunt.

* * *

Tony stared at the 3-D table in front of him. Nothing that he tried to fix ever went anywhere these days.

"It's cause you aren't really concentrating."

Tony looked up- no longer surprised to see the figment of his dead friend standing across the desk from him.

"You know I'm really getting tired of you popping in on me."

Yensin's face was tired and drawn- like it had been the last few days of their captivity.

"I'm getting tired of you being an idiot."

Tony's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"If you were really the ghost of Yensin- you would be nicer."

"Maybe I'm just an irritable ghost?" Yensin replied with a faint smile.

"What do you want Yensin?"

Tony was tired of the pain medication giving him hallucinations.

That was all that he could figure that it was.

"That's not it."  
Tony did not look amused.

"Yeah sure... so you're Yensin the friendly ghost, who can read my thoughts?"

Yensin stood and walked to the edge of the desk- staring down at the man in the wheelchair.

"I am here because you are showing no intention of using the gift that I gave you."

Tony laughed.

"Oh I'm sorry- did you mean the whole _don't waste your life speech? _Cause I think I did pretty well with that- you know, saving all those people, doing all those good things, then- mid-hero-i get shot in the back, and I _can't walk_!" Tony's smile was sardonic.

"Yeah- thanks for the gift, it's been a pleasure."

"You're not lost because of that loss, you miss _her_."

"If you're talking about my ex-gold digging secretary- As if I don't get that enough- believe me Yensin, if I wanted to get a gold digger, all I would have to do is go to an awards show- I could find them prettier too."

"Liar."

Tony had no response- he wasn't expecting that he would be seen through so easily.

"How do you know that I am lying?"

"A man that has no faith in what he is saying- can have no ability to keep things from his friends."

"So you're saying that I don't believe what I'm saying?"

Yensin smiled lightly.

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying." Yensin stood carefully- and Tony noticed the countless holes that pierced his friend's abdomen. They were no longer bleeding- but they were there, a reminder of the sacrifice- mocking him. "You've been drinking haven't you?"

Tony squirmed in his seat.

"Yeah- a little, I've had some stress recently."

"Drugs again too?"

"Hah here is proof that you are a hallucination- PROOF- the _real _Yensin never knew about the drugs, I never told him-"

"You went through withdrawals in that cave," Yensin replied simply, "If I have enough medical experience to hook your heart up to an electromagnet- don't you think that I can see when someone is coming down off of a cocaine addiction."

He was shocked enough to show a little bit of embarrassment- shame even.

"So my conscious mind is trying to get me to go clean? Wow, that does _not _sound like me."

Now that everyone in the room knew that he was a drug addict- and an alcoholic- he pressed a button and a cooler materialized from its clever hiding place in the floor.

He grabbed a bottle- not even bothering to pour it in a glass, taking a large swig.

What he failed to consider was the fact that Yensin wasn't exactly _someone._

" Did Pepper know that you did drugs?"

Tony shrugged

"Not that I know of- and the time we spent together I was clean, the one spot of my life that she didn't have control over."

Tony sounded almost wistful as he said the last bit.

"You _do_ miss her."

Anthony Stark was broken from his reveries.

"Not anymore." And he buried his face and his troubles, in the bottle**.**

* * *

**3 Months In-**

"Ah the heights of the great Tony Stark."

The drug-induced stupor had left him- he was left alone in his huge house- with a dead guy that wouldn't leave him alone.

"If you tell me some really important life lesson will you please _leave_?"

Yensin smiled- sliding down to sit next to his friend on the floor.

"You look _awful_."

Tony rolled his eyes,

"Thanks, I'll log that away."  
"You're the man who built himself a heart that will last for fifty lifetimes- and yet a simple problem like legs inhibits your life totally."

"What are you even talking about?"

Yensin leaned his head back until it rested gently on the the floor behind him.

"The great Tony Start- _known _throughout the world as the man that invents the best."

Tony's eyes widened.

"Do you know how difficult that could be? I would have to directly interface into the human neural system- there is no way-" He cut himself off, the gears already beginning to turn in his head.

Yensin smiled slyly as he began to fade.

"You're welcome Tony."

* * *

**5 Months In-**

Pepper was amazed at how great Tony's name looked on her resume- everywhere she went she was immediately brought into the business.

But things always went down from there- they assumed that she had left under bad circumstances (which she had, but no one else needed to know that) and that she would be willing to spill about any secret projects that Tony Stark had been working on.

When she did not offer that information she was ostracized, and when that didn't happen she was only wanted for the fact that she must have been an **amazing **secretary that went beyond the normal duties.

It wasn't a secret that Tony loved his women, and everyone assumed that Pepper was his favorite.

Some men looked at the prospect of having such an _attentive _secretary an even better prospect than having a hard working secretary.

She had resigned now, at 6 different places.

She missed working for him- as much as she denied that she would- she did.

It had been 5 months and she was plain bored.

Not to mention still painfully in love with her boss, the man who had cut her down to size.

She did not give him slack for being such a total... she lacked the thoughts for the words that would describe what he had been that day- but she still missed him.

* * *

**Month 6_-_**

Maybe it was the boredom, or maybe it was the love that caused her to find herself in front of his huge house- staring up into the dark windows.

There was no light on- which back in the day would have meant that he was out entertaining.

However now, it just meant that he was ensconced in his workshop.

She had made sure- just in case- calling Happy (who was still #3 on her speed dial) and asking if he was home.

"Oh he's home, he hasn't left the house since you left- does this mean you're coming back?"  
She chose to ignore the sound of hopefulness in the immovable chauffeurs' voice.

Pepper sighed

"Happy, it simply means that I am going to see him. We _were _friends once..."

Her voice trailed off.

"For what it's worth-" Happy said- as the conversation began to wind down. "It hasn't been the same since you left."  
"Thank you Happy," She replied, the normal feeling of slight happiness in her heart- also the slight nervousness in her stomach.  
The phone beeped off, her hands lay still in her lap. The large engine lay silent around her- the radio made no noise.

Pepper Potts simply sat and weighed the wisdom of going in to see him.

Their last meeting hadn't been exactly something for the kids to hear as they were tucked into bed.

_Where had that thought come from?_

_

* * *

  
_

Her security code still worked, of course it would.

Why would he change the security code?

Jarvis greeted her- almost with computerized glee.

"_Welcome back Ms. Potts."_

Only one sentence.

It spoke volumes.

* * *

The house was a mess- takeout everywhere- the rest of the world was running by and Stark was living like a frat boy.

She slipped down to the stairs- slowly descending- while excitement and trepidation filled her chest.

He was sitting there- slumped forward in his chair- she assumed that he was asleep.

Pepper came up behind him- placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, completely surprised by the rush of feelings that came to her heart at his nearness,

He wasn't asleep.

His eyes were glazed and his entire body was shivering and shuddering, the paleness of his skin frightened her.

"_Tony_ what is wrong with you?"

He didn't answer- merely threw up all over the floor in front of him.

"What are you doing here Pepper?" He asked

"Checking on you." She replied- assigning a bot to clean up the mess and pulling his icy shivering form to her chest.

"Shouldn't have done that." He whispered, then threw up again. "i called you a gold digger, you should actually hate me."  
"You don't have anyone else." She replied, ignoring his questions. "Why are you sick?"

"Withdrawals." He whispered- going into another fit of shivering.

At some point after Yensin's (or whoever it had been's) suggestion- he had realized that he was going to need a clear mind to go through with the idea that was formulating in his head, THIS had been his only option, he didn't have anyone to help him.

"The cocaine? I thought that got out of your system... months ago."

There was that moment again- where the memories of her thinking that he was dead almost overwhelmed her.

"I thought that you didn't know about that." He managed a weak chuckle. "Turns out I _wouldn't _last a day without you Potts."

Pepper tensed

"Looks like you've lasted 6 weeks without me, Sir."

"Yeah... the whole drunk, coke addict thing is a sparkling example of my amazing skills."  
She laughed at him, despite herself.

"Well I'm back."

And she stayed, even though he threw up on her shoes... twice.

* * *

Tony eyed the pieces of technology on the table before him.

If this didn't work...

Pepper didn't even know about this...

He lay on the table- purposing that this would work,

"Jarvis- prepare to engage Symbiosis."

He rolled to his stomach- feeling the bots next to him- helping.

The icy cold made his skin crawl as the two pieces of metal were placed atop his bare skin.

This metal was amazingly strong and light and flexible- although he wouldn't have to worry about pain now- not with the paralysis.

The computer made two long incisions in the backs of his legs- starting at the top of his thighs and working down to his ankles- slicing through skin and muscle.

He watched on a monitor- amazed that he felt nothing.

The strips were inserted into the slits, the metal aptly named "the living metal" meshed to the useless bone. Creating a second set of bones.

These had not been difficult to create- a second pair of bones that would reinforce his own that would also conduct electrical currents.

The clincher was the cluster of metal that functioned as a motherboard.

It was so small- to hold that much information.

Tony knew that he had created something far beyond the technology out there now.

He braced himself as the incision in his lower back was filled with the complex piece of machinery.

This last part would most likely be the most painful- the bot had lifted the part of machinery that was like the screw that held the machine to his spinal column and that kept them all in sync.

It looked like a giant thick needle- it would go through a specially built groove in the machine- and directly into the nerve endings in his spinal cord.

The idea made him queasy- but what he was most worried about was the fact that he would feel that final push into his spinal cord, and he had no doubt that it would hurt.

A great deal.

"Complete Phase 3" He ordered- wishing that he could have been heavily sedated for this and that he didn't have to be awake to "supervise"

The bots had orders to sew him up if he passed out-

His workshop was built with sound inhibitors built into the walls- so no one heard heard him scream.

* * *

**Soooo yeah, i KNOW that Pepper went back to him rather easily- but i rationalized it with- he was a crappy boss BEFORE Iron Man and she stayed with him, so this would not be too bad. :-) **

**Also- the surgery on himself most likely is not perfectly and medically accurate- i DID try, so bear with me. **

**please review, i hope you like. I'm not expecting this story to go much longer- :-) **

**Until Next Time, **

**Red  
**


	7. Chapter 7

Well i personally like this chapter, but you'll have to tell me if it's too cheesy for these characters. I don't think that there will be many more chapters, and it's not going to be a HUGELY exciting ending, just a happy ending, and i hope you kids like it.

Enjoy this chapter :-)

* * *

Pepper entered the house late that day- she was allowed to be late.

It was her birthday.

It had been months since she had come back to work for Mr. Stark.

Long months that she did not regret.

But they had become firmly intertwined with one anothers lives- and so, even on her birthday-she came into work.

Pleased to think that now he was actually leaving the house to go to the real things in life.

However she was always with him, his constant companion- just in case _anything_ went wrong.

The music struck her instantly- it was a waltz.

Waltz music want exactly a Tony thing so it surprised her- nevertheless the memories that it evoked pleased her- dancing with her Dad as he taught her the different steps.

Then dancing with her boss the night of the charity.

Hmm...

"Hi Pepper."

There he was, standing before her- his eyes an endless, dark abyss.

_Standing._

He was shaky- and his hands were clamped unceremoniously around a thin, metallic walking stick.

"_Tony How did you-"_ She was at a loss for words (which was not shocking around him)

"I just did." He said quietly, looking uncomfortable with her scrutiny.

"And you can-"

"Walk?" He interrupted- he was quite adept at intercepting his secretary's thoughts.

He was quite nervous. "Yes. Although it's not quite perfect yet. I'm a little wobbly."

They both looked down at the cane- and she wondered vaguely how he had gotten such a beautiful cane on such short notice.

"You seem to be doing fine." Pepper replied lightly- uncomfortable with each other suddenly. "How did you manage to-"

"Neural inhibitor placed directly at the base of the spinal column. It interfaced with the parts that were damaged- But I won't bore you with the details."

"It was brilliant." She said simply, it was a statement.

She knew that he knew that it was brilliant.

"Thank you." He replied. The silence was uneasy and pregnant.

"How did you manage getting it in?" She asked suddenly.

And the memories flooded back.

_He had come to- fire flooding through his legs and hips._

_Tony groaned- it seemed to be the only thing that he was capable of at this point in time._

_The pain had dominated his every thought and feeling- so he wallowed on the ground and moaned as if he was dying._

_When the pain receded enough for him to be able to think again- he just lay there, fascinated and hating the newly reacquired sensation of feeling in his legs._

_After a moment- he managed to prop himself up and survey the sutures in the legs and up the back. _

_They were neat and even- robotic. Pink and white. _

_It would leave a strange scar up both legs and across his lower back. _

_The skin was tender and red, his breath hissed in and out as every heartbeat sent waves of roiling pain down his back and legs._

"_**Sir should I call for a doctor?"**_

_The stream of expletives that was aimed at the ceiling would've made the computer blush if it would have been human._

"_**Yes sir"**_

_He heaved himself forward._

_Now or never _

_Managed to keep himself on his feet for about a step- enthralled by the sensation of feeling (albeit an excruciating, burning, horrible feeling) in his legs._

_Then he went down- flat on his face in the middle of the tile floor- hitting hard and on the flats of his palms._

_Without explanation he began to laugh._

"It was very difficult without the help of your hands Ms. Potts, but I managed. Just barely."

"Did it hurt?"

Barely missing a beat he replied.

"Not as bad as it could've."  
"Tony this is the most wonderful thing- you have your life back."

He smiled and held out a hand.

"Would you like to dance?"

It was one of the most random turns of conversation that she had ever experienced- almost cheesy- but here they were, in a place that was miraculous at best and for the second time in her career she was unable to turn him down

They came together in the simplest of human activities, swaying gently around his living room to the waltz music that ran through her soul.

Pepper was once again amazed at how strong he was- his arms guiding her around the room.

There was a moment- when his legs suddenly gave out- collapsing from beneath him.

Pepper held tightly to him- but unable to keep him from pulling her down, they both ended up on their knees.

But he hadn't fallen.

"And once again Pepper- you keep me from hitting bottom. Apparently I haven't worked out all the bugs in my legs."

"Well sir, it _is _part of my job."

"Marry me Pepper." He whispered- keeping her glance to his, not giving her a chance to look away.

"_What?"_

He suddenly glanced at his knees.

"I _was_ wondering how I would get down on my knees without having to ask you to help." He chuckled.

"_What?"_

Tony glanced at the woman kneeling pale and frozen in front of him.

"Will you, Virginia Pepper Potts, consent to being my wife."

Her eyes widened and she managed to close her mouth.

"Your silence does not exactly give me the fiercest confidence."

She blinked twice.

"_Why?"_ Then inwardly

_How articulate Pepper..._

"Well, um, because I was serious that day before the press conference when I said I would need someone to come home to- that would worry about me, and be proud of what I am today because she saw me at the worst that I have ever been." He shrugged slightly. "And because you've been _that _in it's unofficial capacity for more years than I care to think about- and because I am a low and horrible worm who has treated you as badly as possible and should have no chance in this world to have you as his wife- but that is exactly what I'm doing- so Pepper- will you do that- make me the happiest half robotic man on this planet."  
The shock wore away halfway through his speech and she became once again the woman that could make any awkward moment- less awkward.

Placing a hand under his arm, she helped him to his feet with a grunt.

"You know this pretty much confirms that I'm a gold digger to the whole world."

He laughed.

"I don't really care what the world thinks- although I could play back our last conversation before you left so that they could see that the only reason that you would stay with a man like that was if you loved him very much."

Something struck him-

"_Do_ you love me?"

There was just so much that she could say and do- so many classic lines or cheesy things that she could repeat back to keep the moment.

But none of them- _none _of them would amount to a single word.

"Yes." She answered.

"Really?"  
His disbelief killed her- she quickly kissed him, attempting to make him see the depth of the feelings that she actually felt for him.

It wasn't passionate, like the night that they had kissed on the landing outside his door- it was gentle- just an expression of the intense feeling that they had for one another.

He pulled away from her tight embrace, his eyes staring into hers, their faces mere inches from each others.

"Really." She answered- and a sudden flame lit within his eyes- with his lips on his hers moving in firm insistence- she slid her arms up his shoulders- tightening on the fabric of his shirt- pulling him against her with more force than she had thought possible.

There should have been the worry that he would be the same with her as he was with all the others, _before. _But there was no worry in her mind, and Pepper was not one to be swayed by pretty words.

He meant this one.

More than he had meant any other thing in his life- the redhead in his arms was sweet and lovely- she knew him, and still she wanted him.

For all of his faults.

Despite all of his faults.

He did not understand why she would ever do that?

"_Why?" _He asked- pulling away again searching her face for an indication.

"I Always have. I just never thought that you would be interested in me- any more than your usual interest in girls."

She was completely frank with him, someone who didn't mince her words or deny the truth.

"Even before..." The thought trailed off into silence- no matter how much time passed or how much happened between his captivity and the present, he would never be able to just talk about it flippantly.

It was a time that had changed his life- in more ways that one.

"Will you marry me?" He asked- realizing that she hadn't actually given him an answer. "I can't promise to be perfect. But as long as I am bound to you I will only be yours."

It was the soppiest performance he'd ever given- he had confessed his undying affection to many women, but he'd never actually meant it before.

Pepper thought about this- her mind reeling with the confessions and revelations of just a few moments.

Tony Stark- hers, and hers alone.

It wasn't that he had spoken with unheard of sincerity- she had seen him sweet-talk many of the girls that came along his path. He had spoken strangely enough- from his heart.

"You know I could fire you if it would help." His grin completely contradicted his previous tone.

"That won't be a problem sir."  
"Well, your pauses aren't making me feel any better."

"_You a_re kind of putting me on the spot." She noted.

"I'm not letting you leave until you answer me."

"Is that a threat?"  
He grinned again- speaking with the serious tone that bore almost no inflection.

To be truthful, they could both be honest to a fault when it counted.

"I will."

It could have been a gamble- for her to say yes.

Nevertheless for some reason she didn't think so.

He pulled her tightly to him, her head tucked under his chin.

"You know you won't have to be my assistant anymore."

Her brow creased

"I'll be your wife. Same thing."

His eyes darkened and lit with inner flame.

"I don't think so."

The music swelled in perfect sync with their final kiss.

"You know I really did want to dance." He told her, breaking away- attempting to keep himself under control.

Wanting this to be different- to treat her like no one he'd ever been with before.

Pepper looked unsure- as she should be-

Tony was acting like a man in love- not like the usual sarcastic workaholic that he had always been.

"You know this was always my plan. Ever since I saw you in the that blue dress."

They sat on the couch- almost uncomfortable with this new admission of feelings.

His eyes were still drawn though- and his mechanical leg grew stiff and uncomfortable.

He stretched it out- and it whirred mechanically, just like his suit.

The cane lay against the couch- ignored.

Tony swore lightly- his eyes angrily scorching the metal in his leg, he knew where it was. She placed a calming hand on his.

"It's alright Tony."

His grin was wry but unhappy,

"You know- when I thought that the name Iron Man was cool- I never thought that it would get taken this far."

"Tony, are you afraid of not being human?" She asked

He shook his head, thinking about the answer, which bothered him more than he wanted to let on.

"I am afraid that I will lose the small amount of humanity I _did _have before."

His voice was small and fearful.

He wasn't childish upset, more worried about something that was inevitable.

"Pepper, I am afraid that this superhero business will take a little bit out of me- every time I come back. That what started out as a good idea has turned to my ultimate loss."

"Are you going to start Iron Man again?"

He laughed suddenly, but it wasn't a happy sound. She watched him compose himself- his eyes were sad where they had just been happy.

"I can't give it up, not now Pepper." He sighed deeply. "It's the only thing that will make up for what I was."

"Redemption is not worth killing yourself."

He shook his head.

"I can't stop it Pepper. Even these past months have driven me insane- I can't stand _not _doing it. It is a part of me that I need- you saw me- I lost my mind. You saw what happened- Without Iron Man I'm a selfish millionaire, drug addict, womanizing, drunk." His smile was something that did not provoke joy.

"I have to have Iron Man, without him- I'm just Tony Stark."

Pepper's heart broke for him.

"But I love Tony Stark." It was easier to say every time- no longer a secret, no longer something that she had to keep as a badly concealed lie- or even something that caused her to lie to herself.

"You love the Tony Stark that is affected by the suit. The man before was scum and you know it."  
She couldn't deny it- although she'd loved him even then.

"You don't think you are a good man without Iron Man?"

"No. I don't"

His eyes were so dark- lighter than they had been when he had kissed her- but dark with self-loathing and unhappiness.

"Tony. You can't do this to yourself. You can't hate the man outside the suit. _You _made the suit- it will not make you."

His eyes were angry suddenly.

"But I only did it out of rage. Every time I get in the suit I see Yensin's face. He gave up his _life _for mine. Do you know how much that bothers me? He was a man with a heart for other people- I was a man with a heart for myself. And yet he _still _gave his life for _me."_

The tears brimmed in his eyes- with a blink they were gone.

"I do this because he died- so that I could make a difference. So I tried to be a hero- and found out that I liked myself better when I was out there helping people. Liked myself better when I was _angry_."

The anger showed in every stitch of his body- anger that she hadn't seen in him, ever.

Tony was a master of keeping every emotion to shallow and callous.

No one knew the depths of emotion that he had plummeted and risen since the capture and imprisonment.

Tony had barely showed anything with anyone. This session with him showed her a part of the man that she's never known before. He'd bared his soul quite thoroughly and she sat in shock.

"Tony." She intoned, her voice soothing. "You're still human Tony. There is _no way_ that you could be anything _but _human, saying what you just said-" He leaned into her, and she ran her fingers through his hair- holding tightly to him, afraid to let go of _this _man.

He sat up suddenly.

"Pepper you'll have to know- if you marry me- you'll have to know about my past demons. The ones that have always been part of my life- the ones that I can't control. Those times when the only thing that matters is the mission. I don't want you walking into this not knowing. Not knowing what I'm capable of. the damage that I've done in my life."

"Tony I know you- I've run your life since I met you. There's not much that surprises me."

His eyes were hooded, blank and angry.

"Pepper, the things that I did- the things that I experienced- after my parents were killed." He was suddenly young again- just like on the tape – he was the same kid. Standing next to a grave- staring down at an empty life.

"I _know." _ She replied, staring into his face, "There is nothing that you have done that I don't know about. I _promise _you. I wouldn't be a good assistant if I didn't know everything that was going on."  
"And you'll still stay?"

Pepper was amazed at the sudden vulnerability in his tone- although she knew everything about the man, she had hardly ever seen the real man.

"I'll stay forever."  
She stood- knowing that this was the time for her to leave, to keep things as sweet and innocent as if they were dating- _her _kind of dating, not his.

"Pepper- I'll see you out- if you'll help me stand." His grin was back. The real smile- the Pepper smile. The cobwebs and shadows that had just been out, were stowed away.

"You're not staying here alone." She told him- handing him his cane- which he took with a frown. "I'm calling Rhody." Pepper would stay herself- but she didn't trust herself around him. Not now.

"You're _not _calling Rhody- I don't need Rhody here now-"

"Yes you _are _Mr. Stark,"

"Mr. Stark?" He laughed, "You know I may request that you call me that- even _after _we're married."

She opened the door- pulling out her cell phone.

"Sorry." She replied with a small grin. "It's a habit."

"I should fire you- try to break that habit."

"You could try... but it seems that I'm pretty permanent these days."

"Mmmhmm."

They stared at each other- like uncomfortable star-crossed lovers- she broke eye contact- giving him a small kiss on the cheek.

He watched her- go down to the car.

"Good night Tony" She called up over her shoulder."I'm still calling Rhody."

* * *

**There then, nothing earth-shattering. Nothing too terrible, :-P but i rather liked it. Please review if you did too- or if you didn't still go, i like your criticisms just as much.**

**Anyhoo- thanks for reading, :-)**

**Red- The magnificent Iron Man addictee.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Just So you know- this is only meant as a sort of Epilogue/Ending. Just to wrap things up.**

**

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**

The air force soldier slipped into the Malibu mansion- ignoring the alarms that went off and Jarvis' nonchalant voice informing him that the police had been contacted.

But the sight of his best friend hobbling out of a side room holding a shiny cane. What surprised him was the arm-piece from the IRON MAN suit aimed at him.

"What the- Rhody? Why are you here?"  
"Pepper called-" Rhody replied- the grin on his face

"Why didn't you tell her no?" Tony asked, still not dropping the IRON MAN arm.

Rhody saw that he looked better- still pale and thinner- but better.

"Have you ever tried to tell Potts no?"

When his friend didn't respond the grin widened.

"Exactly." Rhody replied

Tony sat down wearily on the floor- he didn't have the strength to make it to a couch or chair.

Rhody wanted to rush forward and help- it was in his nature to help and protect others, but he resisted instead making jokes and small talk while his best friend ran fingers up both sides of his legs in an attempt to stop the throbbing.

Tony knew that he shouldn't have been on them so quickly- or in his weakened state. But he couldn't stand waiting- and being as impatient as he usually was, he completely ignored the rules and or anything else that terfered with his impatient schedule.

"When's the date?" Asked Rhody- to get his mind off of his friend in pain.

Tony rattled off a time in the future.

Rhody nodded- watching the light play across the huge house.

* * *

As it turns out- a story was leaked to the press that One, Anthony Stark and One Virginia Potts eloped three days later.

According to some reports they were spending their honeymoon in France- there was also a report that IRON MAN was also seen that week rescuing hostages from insurgents near the Moroccan border.

So when Tony floated in after his adventure to his waiting wife who was looking both proud and worried at the same time- he realized that this was what it meant to be happy.

He attempted to kiss her- while in this euphoric state- and promptly fell, knocking her flat in the process.

Tony laughed pulling her up off the ground.

"Some super hero-" She smirked. "It's a miracle that they haven't arrested you- attacking poor women standing on their balconies."  
"Well I'm sorry of new at this ma'am." He replied, playing along.

"It's no excuse. If you're going to be a super hero you need to know these things."  
His chuckle threatened to burst forth- she was looking pretty severe.

"But my super suit is pretty awesome- you have to admit."  
She shrugged.

"Is that your super hero name- Mr. Shiny Suit?"  
"Nah." He replied- pulling her suddenly to him- his voive growing deep and husky. "I am Iron Man."

* * *

**Epilogue:**

Now I could tell you that they married and lived happily ever after- never once finding strife in their married bliss.

But that wouldn't be the whole story, and it would be in short -a lie and I think that you would be mightily displeased by such a boring ending.

So I will tell you, that she married him- and he loved her, and that they were happy and that they fought and argued when he came home hurt while being a hero.

But he was home when their children were delivered, although a little late for number 3, which turned out to be his second son.

I can also tell you that they had their father's eyes and their mother's hair- and that the second son was building an arc reactor by the age of four.

You'll have to know that he was loyal to her all those years, against his very nature- and that people stopped calling her a golddigger within two weeks after the wedding.

Their house was always a state of chaos- and when Tony Stark turned back to look at all the stories and adventures that had led up to this moment, he was unable to verbalize his gratitude to the Powers That Be for a life that was so fulfilled.

Iron Man was most likely, eventually defeated, and Pepper at some point made her final journey.

But I do not tell you that story.

I have told you this story-and this, as all stories must end.

~Fin~

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**Random Ending I know- but I had no choice, this was how it had to end- it was short and to the point, as endings should be.**

**I hope you enjoyed my story. As you know- I own nothing to do with Iron Man, the only thing that is original is my lovely story.**

**Review if you like- **

**Thanks again for reading.**

**Aloha,**

**Red**


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